African fighters have dominated the MMA landscape in recent years, with the likes of Francis Ngannou and Israel Adesanya headlining some of the sport’s biggest draws.
While Africa has seen a rise in regional MMA promotions across the continent, international organizations have yet to capitalize on a rapidly growing fan base.
PFL Africa Managing Director Elias Schulze wants to change that, and LowKickMMA was fortunate enough to bring in the man charged with building the PFL brand on the world’s second largest continent – and helping bring a new generation of African fighters onto the world stage.
Schulze has worked across Africa in various roles for over a decade, but his contract with PFL gave him his first taste of working in the martial arts world – and he’s already hooked.
“I think it’s awe-inspiring to a certain extent. These guys are incredibly disciplined. They have a self-control that anyone who wants to do anything with their life would envy,” he says, speaking of the talent he is surrounded by at PFL Africa.
“She [the fighters] tend to have endured enormous challenges personally and professionally before even competing with us. So I love it. What always struck me was, in addition to the discipline and self-control, the sportsmanship that you see.
These guys and gals then give each other hugs, make sure they’re okay, ask about each other and make sure the injury isn’t too bad for their opponent. So I think sometimes that part is missing from the public discourse. Especially as a new sport in Africa, it is important that we give a holistic picture that this is truly athletics: martial arts in the highest degree of practice. For me, respect is the right word.”
This weekend’s PFL Africa Semifinals: Rwanda event takes place at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda. It is the first time that PFL is staging a card in the country, and Schulze is excited about bringing PFL Africa to the East African country.
“It’s also great that we have a Rwandan fighter as a showcase against a Ugandan. His story is incredible,” Schulze said.
“He left Rwanda when he was two and grew up in Uganda. The reason he has a Ugandan name is because his stepfather is Ugandan. He’s coming back; it’s his big homecoming.”
Growing a new sports league is difficult in any market. Yet PFL has the advantage of broadcast agreements that have given the company access to at least 40 million households across Africa – giving it enormous reach across the region.
During the inaugural tournament, the promotion signed 32 fighters from approximately 15 African countries, giving each card a pan-African feel, with the aim of uniting the continent’s MMA fanbase. What will ultimately keep viewers coming back is the action on display and their investment in the competing fighters.
Schulze has surrounded himself with top creative talent to showcase the roster’s athletes, but is confident that ultimately it will be the fighters themselves who will win over the crowd.
“These stories tell themselves; these are people who are incredibly interesting. The more viewers, one, see the sport – which they will because it’s pushed – and two, see these heroes in these stories, they’ll figure out who they like and who they want to follow, and that will continue year after year,” he explains.
“Soon we will have a lot of mini Francis Ngannous. Everyone knows Francis Ngannou for his wit, but also for his story and his resilience. So I think through PFL Africa we will have dozens of little Francis Ngannous in the next five to 10 years,” he adds.
“My perception is that this is what makes MMA really interesting: the personal level of the story.”
After Rwanda, the next stop for PFL Africa will be Benin where the inaugural PFL Africa champions will be crowned. Planning for 2026 has already begun and there will be plenty of high-level MMA action before the curtain closes on this current season.
“We are very excited for next year,” Schulze said.
“I mean, we have to end this year on a high. I think Benin will definitely be a stunner. There’s incredible talent coming through, even in the semi-finals; they’re proven fighters, they’ll be explosive, but once we get to Benin, it’s going to be wild.”
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