In a first for the promotion, the PFL makes its way to South Africa for a blockbuster show from the sprawling city of Cape Town for PFL Champions Series 2. In the main event of PFL Champions Series 2, Bellator Middleweight Champion Johnny Eblen will make the final defense of his strap against strong contender Costello van Steenis. In the penultimate bout, highly-touted female competitor Dakota Ditcheva looks to resume her warpath in the flyweight class by turning away Sumiko Inaba.
PFL Champions Series 2 Main Event
Capturing the 185-lb throne in 2022 with a victory over the venerable Gegard Mousasi, Eblen has remained perfect in his professional career, logging three successful title defenses heading into PFL Champions Series 2. Standing as one of the best middleweight athletes on the planet, “Pressure” will attempt to turn his Bellator belt into a PFL one by defeating another competent challenger in the PFL Champions Series 2 main event.
Although not as prolific as some of the other names that have crossed paths with Eblen as of late, van Steenis is by no means a pushover fighter, having bested notable individuals such as Mike Shipman, Kamil Oniszczuk and Fabian Edwards. Gearing up for the most important contest of his life, “The Spaniard” has the chance to seize company gold for the first time by taking out a pound-for-pound great in the sport.
PFL Champions Series 2 Co-Main Event
While her journey in mixed martial arts only began four years ago, Ditcheva has risen to become an exciting sensation, taking the PFL 125-lb division by storm beginning in 2022. Winning her first eight fights in the promotion, the previous Muay Thai standout earned her spot in the 2024 women’s flyweight tournament final. There, she knocked out the skilled Talia Santos in the second round to achieve superstar status ahead of the PFL Champions Series 2 co-main event.
Competing exclusively in Bellator for the first seven scraps of her career, Inaba compiled an excellent record of 7-1 by the time the promotion was merged into the PFL. Under her new banner, “Lady Samurai” has won two straight, recording a split decision over Saray Orozco and a knockout against Mackenzie Stiller.
Here’s how to watch PFL Champions Series 2
Online Streaming: You can catch the entire card on ESPN+, but you will need to subscribe in order to do so. Right now, the company is offering a monthly or yearly subscription of $11.99 and $119.99 respectively. For those who want to get more bang out of their buck, there is also the monthly Disney Bundle Deal, which offers ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+ for $16.99 with included commercials, or $26.99 for no commercials at all.
Fight fans can also download the promotion’s event app to catch all the fights from PFL Cape Town anywhere in the world.
Start Time and Date: The Preliminaries will begin at 10am ET, followed by the Main Card at 2pm ET on July 19th.
Bout Order For PFL Champions Series 2
Main Card:
Johnny Eblen vs. Costello van Steenis (Middleweight Championship)
Dakota Ditcheva vs. Sumiko Inaba (Women’s Flyweight Co-Main Event)
A.J. McKee vs. Akhmed Magomedov (Featherweight)
Makkasharip Zaynukov vs. Takeshi Izumi (Lightweight)
Corey Anderson vs. Denis Goltsov (Heavyweight)
Preliminaries:
Nkosi Ndebele vs. Mahmoud Atef (Bantamweight Featured Bout)
Maxwell Djantou Nana vs. Mickaël Groguhe (Heavyweight)
Shannon van Tonder vs. Boule Godogo (Bantamweight)
Jashell Ticha Awa vs. Justin Clarke (Heavyweight)
Asiashu Tshitamba vs. Karim Henniene (Bantamweight)
Abdoullah Kane vs. Joffie Houlton (Heavyweight)
Frans Mlambo vs. Simbarashe Hokonya (Bantamweight)
Paul-Emmanuel Gnaze vs. Abraham Bably (Heavyweight)
Juliet Ukah vs. Ceileigh Niedermayr (Women’s Flyweight)
