The Biggest Upsets in PFL Africa 2026 Thus Far

The inaugural PFL Africa season delivered its fair share of surprises, but the 2026 campaign has taken that to another level.

With PFL Africa: Morocco now on the horizon, the first two events of the 2026 season - PFL Africa: Pretoria and PFL Africa: Nigeria - have produced several results that nobody could have predicted. From undefeated fighters seeing their perfect records disappear to a newly-minted champion suffering a shocking defeat, the season has been anything but predictable. 

Here are the biggest official upsets of PFL Africa's 2026 season so far.

Justin Clarke def. Abdoulaye Kane (PFL Africa: Pretoria)

Few results this year have been as surprising as Justin Clarke's victory over Abdoulaye Kane.

Clarke was coming off a runner-up finish in the 2025 PFL Africa heavyweight tournament, where he ultimately fell short against eventual champion Abraham Bably. After that defeat, there were legitimate questions about where Clarke stood among the division's leading heavyweights.

Kane, meanwhile, had established himself as one of the heavyweight division's prospects and entered the matchup with considerable momentum. Things initially appeared to be going according to plan for Kane. He hurt Clarke early and looked well on his way to taking control of the fight - then everything changed.

Clarke weathered the storm before turning the fight around and stopping Kane in the first round with a left hook and strikes, producing a huge upset and reminding everyone why he reached the PFL Africa heavyweight final in the first place.

Peace Nguphane def. Yabna N'Tchala (PFL Africa: Pretoria)

South Africa's Peace 'X' Nguphane pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Pretoria - and he did it at the expense of a 2025 PFL Africa champion.

Yabna N'Tchala entered the first round welterweight tournament matchup as the reigning PFL Africa Welterweight Champion and one of the favourites for the 2026 edition. Nguphane, meanwhile, was tasked with facing the champion in his first official PFL Africa matchup.

Rather than being overwhelmed by the occasion, Nguphane stayed composed and earned a convincing unanimous decision victory, immediately putting his name among the fighters to watch in the welterweight tournament in 2026.

For a fighter looking to establish himself in PFL Africa, it is difficult to make a bigger statement than eliminating the reigning champion in such dominant fashion.

Elisandra Ferreira def. Juliet Ukah (PFL Africa: Nigeria)

This might have been the biggest emotional shock of PFL Africa: Nigeria.

Juliet Ukah entered the event as an undefeated fighter and one of the most prominent female MMA talents on the African continent. She was also competing on home soil, making the occasion feel like something of a homecoming.

Instead of celebrating another victory in front of her supporters, Ukah sufferered the first defeat of her professional career. Brazil's Elisandra Ferreira submitted Ukah with an armbar in the second round, producing a result that few would have expected when the two women walked into the cage.

Ferreira actually brought more professional experience into the matchup, but Ukah's undefeated record and growing reputation made her one of the fighters many expected to continue rising through the PFL Africa ranks. Instead, Ferreira became the first woman to beat her.

Rivaldo Pereira def. Kunle Lawal (PFL Africa: Pretoria)

The circumstances surrounding Guinea-Bissau's Rivaldo Pereira's victory over Kunle Lawal at PFL Africa: Pretoria make this one particularly difficult to ignore.

Pereira accepted the fight on just one day's notice, after Eliezer Kubanza could not partake in the tournament. But when Pereira managed to step into the PFL SmartCage and stop Lawal in the opening round, he immediately made himself a fighter to know in the tournament.

Short-notice replacements are normally expected to be at a disadvantage. They have less time to prepare for the fight, less time to study their opponent, and less time to mentally adjust to the new demands and expectations the new fight will have for them.

Pereira apparently needed none of that though. 'Don Pepas' stepped in at the last minute and delivered one of the most electric performances of the Pretoria event.

Jordan Fongno def. Yahaya Yahuza (PFL Africa: Nigeria)

Yahaya Yahuza's PFL Africa debut was supposed to be the latest chapter in one of the most impressive rises in African MMA.

The Nigerian entered the tournament with a perfect 8-0 professional record and the momentum of a fighter who had quickly established himself as one of the continent's most exciting prospects. Making his PFL Africa debut in his home country only added to the occasion, and heading into the matchup with Cameroon's Jordan Fongno, Yahuza was widely viewed as a lock to advance.

With just a 4-1 record going into the fight, Fongno had significantly less professional experience than his undefeated opponent. But none of that mattered once the cage door closed, as he put Yahuza under pressure before stopping him with punches in the second round.

For Yahuza, this was the first defeat of his professional career - and a particularly brutal one to suffer in front of his home crowd. For Fongno, it was a statement victory over one of the most highly regarded unbeaten fighters in African MMA. Not only did Fongno derail Yahuza's PFL Africa journey; he announced himself as a serious prospect in his own right.

Karim Henniene def. Thimna Mhlauli (PFL Africa: Nigeria)

Not every upset requires a huge difference in records - and this fight was proof of that.

Algeria's Karim 'The Kryptonian' Henniene and South Africa's Thimna 'Kingslayer' Mhlauli both entered their PFL Africa: Nigeria first-round bantamweight tournament matchup undefeated, making this one difficult to predict on paper. Neither fighter was an obvious underdog, and both had established themselves as promising African prospects.

What made the result shocking was just how quickly Henniene ended the fight. Rather than a closely contested battle between two fighters with perfect records, Henniene forced a submission on Mhlauli in the first round with an Anaconda Choke.

Mhlauli's perfect record disappeared in spectacular fashion, while Henniene emerged from the match with an even bigger reputation than he had going in. Sometimes an upset is about who wins. Sometimes it's about how they win. This was very much the latter.

Hussain Al-Kurdi def. Abderrahman Errachidy (PFL Africa: Nigeria)

Hussain Al-Kurdi's victory over Abderrahman Errachidy might be one of the more surprising results for anyone who had followed both fighters before PFL Africa: Nigeria.

Chad's Al-Kurdi was still at the very beginning of his professional career, entering the bout with a 2-0 record. Meanwhile, Morocco's Errachidy had already competed in the PFL Africa featherweight tournament in the inaugural season, and had experience fighting on the promotion's biggest stage.

Errachidy had previously faced the challenges of making featherweight, and his move into the lightweight tournament appeared to offer a fresh opportunity to compete at a more comfortable weight. Instead, Al-Kurdi pulled off the upset with a second-round Rear-Naked Choke.

Al-Kurdi was supposed to be the fighter gaining experience from the matchup. Instead, he walked away with one of the biggest wins of his young career and a step closer to the the $100,000. This was another example of just how quickly PFL Africa's emerging talent can announce itself.

The Upset That Doesn't Count

There is one other result from PFL Africa: Nigeria that deserves to be mentioned, even though it cannot officially be included on this list.

Wasi Adeshina's return to competition was supposed to be a celebration. The 2025 PFL Africa Featherweight Champion was fighting for the first time since winning that inaugural tournament, and he was doing it in front of his home crowd in Nigeria. Instead, Spain's Ignacio Campos submitted him in the first round.

At the time, this was an enormous shock. Adeshina had gone from champion to suffering a stunning defeat in his first fight since then. But the result did not stand.

Campos subsequently tested positive for a banned substance, and the result was overturned to a No Contest. So while Campos' victory over Adeshina cannot officially be considered one of the biggest upsets of the 2026 season, the shock of what happened inside the SmartCage at the time remains worth remembering.