With the Professional Fighters League (PFL) set to host its inaugural Africa event in Cape Town on July 19, general manager Elias Schulze is hoping that the relative affordability of tickets can help the league capture a wide audience.
Ticket prices at international sporting events in South Africa have come under the microscope recently. Football, as a predominantly working class sport, regularly offers tickets to professional events at under $3.
However, supporters of the men's national rugby team, the Springboks, have complained of being priced out of attending matches. Tickets for the upcoming match against the Barbarians on June 28 range from R250 to R3500 (around $14-194).
In the MMA world, UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis said on the Sias du Plessis Show that ticket pricing concerns are standing in the way of the world's biggest MMA league's planned entry into South Africa.
"Where are you going to find 14,000 people willing to pay $300-$350 for the cheapest seat in the back? That's the biggest problem we have," the middleweight champ rhetorically asked, pointing to the prices of the cheapest UFC tickets at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena as a reference point.
However, arguably the UFC's biggest competitor globally - the PFL - do not see this as a problem, Schulze told ESPN. They have partnered with Ticketpro to sell tickets to the launch event at GrandWest Arena with an initial starting price of R350 (slightly less than $20). It's all relative, of course, but for a small venue and niche event, it's doable.
"We're super excited to make this a vibe. When folks are there and they are excited, that is foremost... Even [with] the tickets we put out there, this is a premium brand, but we understand that we're trying to democratise it and we need to give fans a chance to fall in love with us," Schulze told ESPN.
"This is something where if you really want to come and you want to see, it will be broadly accessible for you and of course, you can always watch on TV or whatever. That's the 90% accessibility target...
"We want to eventually have [a situation where] 90% of folks who want to tune in and watch at least one fight of the entire bout [can do it] irrespective of their socioeconomic status. This is the people's sport.
"It's fine that there are sports for the elite. This is not one of them. I was talking to folks in Cape Town and Jo'burg a couple of weeks ago and they were like: 'What's your demographic?' I was like: 'Can we say everybody? Is that a demographic?'
"Obviously, it will maybe suit [a] slightly younger [audience] - but not always. Country to country, it will vary.
"This is the people's sport. This is just people getting up and doing what they do best, which is training for these [fights which require] crazy training. The discipline is insane and I think it's inspirational. It gets me to the gym more."
The timing of the PFL's inaugural Africa event is unlikely to be coincidental, with the UFC's struggles launching on the continent presenting an opportunity to arguably its biggest MMA rival.
What neither Schulze nor anyone else can deny is the importance of Francis Ngannou - the PFL Africa's chairman and former UFC heavyweight champion - in the timeline of events leading up to July 19.
In May 2023, Ngannou signed with the PFL four months after the UFC stripped him of his belt as a result of his contract expiring. He had reportedly been unable to agree terms with the UFC, while the PFL offered him a place on the global advisory board, equity and the chairmanship of its Africa league.
Six months after signing Ngannou, the PFL acquired Bellator MMA from Paramount Global - reinforcing its status as a contender to the UFC. It is against this backdrop that Schulze has been hired to help the league reach its full potential.
An experienced executive with almost two decades of experience in strategy, finance, and operations across Africa, Schulze's CV includes both international giants such as McKinsey & Company and local companies such as Ethiopia's Kana Television, which he co-founded.
Schulze was appointed in March and has had to dive straight into the deep end. Nevertheless, he is already confident about how he wants the PFL to stand out: "We believe that a more meritocratic, innovative structure.
"A true sports season format, single elimination, allows for the best talent to shine through and correctly incentivises talent formation in a more meritocratic way," he said, adding that despite format differences between MMA leagues, all fighters deserve the utmost respect for their skill and bravery regardless of which one they participate in.
Fighters at PFL in Cape Town
The PFL's launch event in Africa will feature five major international bouts as part of the PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai.
In the World Title main event, Iowa's Johnny Eblen (16-0) faces Spain's Costello van Steenis (16-3). The co-main event will be a women's bout between 2024 PFL Women's Flyweight Champion - England's Dakota Ditcheva (14-0) - and Hawaii's Sumiko Inaba (8-1).
Other confirmed fights on the main card for July 19 see the USA's AJ McKee facing Russia's Akhmed Magomedov and another USA vs. Russia bout between Corey Anderson and Denis Goltsov.
The opening night will also see the launch of the PFL Africa tournament. In the heavyweight tournament's first round, South Africa's Justin Clarke will face Cameroon's Jashell Ticha Awa, while Senegal's Abdoulaye Kane will face Morocco's Mohammad Ben Yahia.
Cameroon's Maxwell Djantou Nana will be in action against French-Ivorian fighter Mickaël Groguhe and Morocco's Badreddine Medkouri will square up against another Ivroian, Abraham Bably.
South Africa's Nkosi Ndebele and Egypt's Mahmoud Atef will face off in a bantamweight first round bout. Another local fighter, Shannon van Tonder, will face Angola's Boule Godogo. The other first round bouts in that division will see Zimbabwe's Simbarashe Hokonya take on Cameroon's Alain Majorique and Angola's Antero dos Santos facing Algeria's Karim Henniene.
The other confirmed fight sees Nigeria's Juliet Ukah face South Africa's Ceileigh Niedermayr in the women's strawweight division.
More events are planned for August, October and beyond elsewhere across Africa as the league looks to make its mark.