The
Professional Fighters League Africa held its tournament
semifinals Saturday at Mohammed V Sports Complex in Casablanca,
Morocco.

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The
PFL Africa 3: 2026 Playoffs headliner featured a heavyweight
clash between Abdoulaye
Kane and promotional newcomer Badr
Medkouri. The heavyweights exchanged shots early before the
action was temporarily stopped following an apparent eye poke by
Kane. Medkouri was given time to recover and was able to
continue.

Abdoulaye Kane finishes Badr Medkouri in the first round in
Casablanca

When the action resumed, Kane (6-2, 3-2 PFL) controlled Morocco’s
Medkouri (9-4, 0-1 PFL) against the cage before taking him down. On
the canvas, the Senegalese fighter landed punches as his opponent
tried to escape. Kane then
unleashed a series of elbows that forced referee Paul Crossley to
stop the action. The technical knockout came at 4:06
of the first round. Kane rebounded from a loss and improved to 3-1
in his last four appearances. In the featherweight co-main event, Yanis
Ghemmouri (14-4, 2-1 PFL), a former Ultimate Fighting
Championship fighter and 2025 PFL MENA finalist, stifled Taha
Bendaoud’s attack while waiting for him to overcommit.
Ghemmouri took the fight to the canvas several times in the second
and third rounds and kept Bendaoud (5-3, 2-3 PFL) at bay with
strikes from distance. The Moroccan struggled to impose his game as
the bout ran its course. All three judges scored it 30-27 for
Ghemmouri, giving the Algerian a unanimous decision victory.

In a welterweight tournament semifinal, Shido
Boris Esperanca (13-2, 5-1 PFL) stopped Peace
Nguphane (9-4, 1 NC; 1-1 PFL) 63 seconds into the fight.
Esperanca, who missed weight Friday at 172 pounds, hurt Nguphane
early. „The Machine“ maintained the pressure and earned a technical
knockout.

The second 170-pound semifinal saw International Mixed Martial Arts
Federation veteran David
Samuel (5-0, 2-0 PFL) outgrapple Rivaldo
Pereira (4-3, 1-1 PFL) for three rounds to earn a unanimous
decision, with all three judges scoring it 30-27. „Django“
controlled the grappling exchanges but went the distance for the
first time in his professional career. Samuel will face Esperanca
in the final.

In the card’s only bantamweight semifinal, Dwight
Joseph (17-3, 1 NC; 3-1 PFL) edged Boule
Godogo (5-3, 2-3 PFL) by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).
Joseph relied on his grappling but could not secure a finish
despite taking Godogo’s back multiple times. He will face Raphael
Uchegbu in the final after Uchegbu’s scheduled semifinal
against Alain
Majorique was removed from the card.

In a lightweight semifinal, Patrick
Ocheme (10-1, 4-0 PFL) earned his place in the final by
knocking out Cornel
Thompson (12-4, 2-1 PFL) with a body kick at 2:46 of the first
round. Thompson
backed down and dropped to the canvas as soon as “Star Boi”
connected with the kick, and Ocheme held back as the
referee intervened.

The other lightweight semifinal, between Demba Seck
(11-3, 1 NC; 1-0, 1 NC PFL) and Hussain Al
Kurdi (3-0, 1 NC; 1-0, 1 NC PFL),
ended in a no contest after Al Kurdi landed an accidental knee to
the groin after 37 seconds. Seck used the full
five-minute recovery period but was unable to continue. He advanced
under PFL tournament rules and will face Ocheme in the final.

At welterweight, Mouhamed Ba
(4-1, 1 NC; 1-0, 1 NC PFL) defeated Yabna
N’Tchala (14-4-1, 3-2 PFL) by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27,
29-28), earning the first decision victory of his career. “The
Black Lion” used effective striking to dictate the pace. Ba earned
his first promotional win and handed N’Tchala his second
consecutive loss.

In a bantamweight bout, Legacy Fighting Alliance veteran Reda
Abdellaoui (5-0, 1-0 PFL) remained unbeaten by forcing
Tunisia’s Salim
Mhamdi (2-2, 0-1 PFL)
to tap to a rear-naked choke at 2:11 of the opening
frame. „The Lynx“ earned his fifth finish in as many
professional wins and his second by rear-naked choke.

Earlier, former African Knockout titleholder Jane Osigwe
(6-4, 1-1 PFL) defeated Sanaa
Mandar (3-3, 0-1 PFL) by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28,
29-27) in a 132-pound catchweight bout.

In the opening lightweight bout, Abderrahman
Errachidy (6-2, 2-1 PFL) earned his first decision victory by
defeating Oussama
El Idrissi (3-1, 0-1 PFL) on all three scorecards (29-28,
29-28, 30-27).

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

Internationaler Kampfkunst und Kampfsport Kleinanzeiger