Remember me
2025 PFL Championship Series at the Grand West Arena in Cape Town, South Africa Saturday, July 19, 2025. (Matt Ferris / PFL)
Supplied/PFL AfricaFor years, African MMA fighters had little choice but to leave the continent to pursue professional success. Opportunities, infrastructure, and visibility were primarily found overseas, making the journey especially challenging for women. However, that is no longer the case. PFL Africa has arrived, providing a professional platform on home soil and is committed to giving both men and women the chance to thrive.
At the forefront of this change is Nigeria’s Juliet Ukah, the first female fighter signed by the organisation. Undefeated with a record of 7-0, Ukah stumbled into MMA almost by accident. After stepping in for another fighter with little knowledge of the sport, neither the rules nor the techniques nor the rhythm of a professional bout, she considered pulling out. “I wanted to pull out,” she told Forbes.com, just three months before the PFL Africa Championship in Benin. The risk seemed too great, but she stayed, won her first fight, and began a career that would defy expectations and break barriers for women in African combat sports.
That initial fight ignited a spark within her. Each subsequent match served as a lesson, and each victory affirmed her place in the cage. The woman who once doubted herself now stands as one of the faces of a global promotion. “At first, I didn’t really believe I could do this,” she reflects. “But with time, I realised: I can actually be the fighter I am today.”
Her rise mirrors a broader shift in African MMA: talented fighters no longer need to leave home to compete professionally, and opportunities are now being created for both men and women. What sets Ukah apart is not just her record or resilience; it is her unique approach to fighting. In a sport where many define themselves as strikers, grapplers, or submission specialists, Ukah refuses to be confined to any one category.
A Fighter Who Defies Labels2025 PFL Championship Series at the Grand West Arena in Cape Town, South Africa Saturday, July 19, 2025. (Matt Ferris / PFL)
Supplied/PFL AfricaIn a sport where fighters often define themselves as strikers, grapplers, or submission specialists, Ukah refuses to be boxed in. “I’m a random fighter,” she says matter-of-factly. “I wouldn’t say I have a particular style or one big weapon. Whichever works out for me, I just go with that. If it’s striking, I strike. If it’s wrestling, I wrestle. If it’s defending on the ground, I do that.”
This adaptability has become her trademark. For fans, it makes her unpredictable and entertaining to watch. One moment she is trading heavy punches, the next she’s defending on the mat. For opponents, it makes her a nightmare. Ukah doesn’t walk into the cage with a fixed script. She reacts, adjusts, and finds a way.
She also knows the crowd’s expectations. “When it’s a striking fight, people are excited,” she says. “Sometimes the ground game is less exciting for them, but whichever way it goes, I make sure I’m ready.”
The Price of the Path2025 PFL Championship Series at the Grand West Arena in Cape Town, South Africa Saturday, July 19, 2025. (Matt Ferris / PFL)
Supplied/PFL AfricaFor Ukah, success has never been about shortcuts. She has stepped into the cage against heavier opponents, fought through injuries, and balanced the relentless grind of her police work with equally demanding training sessions. The sacrifices were heavy, but her determination was heavier still.
Taekwondo, kickboxing, local races in Lagos, she signed up, often using her own money, often against seasoned specialists, and often losing. However, for Ukah, defeat was never failure. It was a lesson, another tool to sharpen, another step toward becoming a complete fighter. “Even if you beat me, it wasn’t my business. I was proving to myself I could do it,” she explains. What looked scattered to others became the perfect foundation for MMA, where adaptability is survival.
Money was always tight, and the doubts around her were constant. Friends and family urged her to give up, to focus on a steady paycheck and a safer future. At one point, she almost listened. But her principles pulled her back. “I don’t let money or opinions distract me. I always believed one day things would change, and look at where I am today.”
That belief shapes her approach even now: relentless improvement, one layer at a time. If yesterday was boxing, today it’s kicks. Tomorrow, it’s something new. That mindset, growth without limits, is what has kept her undefeated.
Two Lives, One WomanWhat makes Ukah’s story unique is that her fight is not confined to the cage. Outside, she serves as a police officer in Nigeria, another demanding role that requires toughness, composure, and resilience.
Her life is a constant balancing act. “If I’m not in the office, I’m training. If I’m not training, I’m in the office,” she explains. With a sports leave granted by the police force, she has been able to dedicate more focus to MMA, but the duality remains part of her identity.
She remembers sneaking away during shifts, still in uniform, just to shadowbox in the restroom. “Anywhere I found myself, I trained. Sometimes people looked at me like I was mad,” she says. What others dismissed as an obsession was, for her, a blueprint for excellence. That hunger pushed her into every competition she could find. In both uniforms, the officer’s and the fighter’s, she represents authority, strength, and service.
Pushback and Perseverance2025 PFL Championship Series at the Grand West Arena in Cape Town, South Africa Saturday, July 19, 2025. (Matt Ferris / PFL)
Supplied/PFL AfricaFor Ukah, being a female fighter in Africa means navigating cultural resistance. She has faced criticism from both family members and colleagues. “Even in my job, people would say things like, ‘You’ll beat your husband at home,’” she recalls.
Such comments reflect the broader belief that combat sports are not suitable for women and that physical strength somehow undermines femininity. However, Ukah refuses to accept these limitations. For her, fighting is not about conforming to society’s expectations; it’s about redefining them.
“Women should not wait for someone to tell them what they can or cannot do,” she insists. “Even if it’s not in a sport, learning self-defence can save you.”
By stepping into the cage, Ukah is not only defending herself but also creating visibility for the new possibilities for women across Africa.
Building A Career In Africa2025 PFL Championship Series morning weigh-in in Cape Town, South Africa Friday, July 18, 2025. (Matt Ferris / PFL)
Supplied/PFL AfricaUkah’s signing with PFL Africa represented more than just another contract. In her debut in Cape Town, she experienced a new level of professionalism and structure that confirmed she had reached a new stage in her career.
“Before, I could pick and choose when I wanted to fight,” she explains. “Now it’s a business and it’s competitive; if you win, you continue; if you lose, you go home. It’s the real thing, and I’m ready.”
What sets Ukah apart is not just her entry into a global promotion, but where she has built her career. While many fighters seek international camps with state-of-the-art facilities, Ukah has stayed in Nigeria, training with improvised tools, minimal resources, and maximum determination and is encouraging others to do the same.
“I’ve never been to America,” she says proudly. “Everything I’ve done is here, back home in Nigeria. I used sandbags to train when I had nothing else. You don’t need to wait for the perfect conditions. Start with what you have.”
Her journey is proof that African fighters can thrive without leaving home and that discipline, creativity, and sheer determination can close the gap where resources fall short.
The Bigger Fight2025 PFL Championship Series at the Grand West Arena in Cape Town, South Africa Saturday, July 19, 2025. (Matt Ferris / PFL)
Supplied/PFL AfricaJuliet Ukah knows that every fight comes with risk, physical, emotional, and professional. But she meets each challenge with the same attitude: she will not be defined by fear or limited by doubt.
“I don’t talk outside the cage,” she says with quiet confidence. “I talk inside the cage.”
As she prepares for her next bout under the PFL banner in Benin, come the Championship in December, she carries more than her own ambitions. She carries the hopes of young women watching, the dreams of African fighters seeking opportunity at home, and the promise that the story of African MMA is still being written.
Ukah is not just breaking barriers; she is building bridges. Her journey is proof that history is not only made in headlines, but in everyday decisions: to keep going, to push harder, to believe when no one else does.
And yet, Ukah insists her journey is not just about her. “I don’t want to be the first and the last,” she says. “I want others to come after me, even bigger than me. I’m not in competition with anybody else. My only competition is becoming better than I was yesterday.”
For Ukah, true success is not about standing alone at the top; it's about creating opportunities for others to succeed. Her ambitions go beyond her own career, as she dreams of opening a women-only gym in Nigeria. This gym would provide a safe space for training, fitness, and empowerment for women. For Ukah, it’s not just about nurturing the next generation of fighters; it’s also about equipping women with the tools for confidence and self-protection.