Debut of PFL in SA will change the MMA game: Ceileigh 'Smiling Savage' Nedermayer

Ceileigh Nedermayer joins CapeTalk's Amy MacIver (in for Sara-Jayne Makwala King) for an in-depth interview.

South Africa's Dricus du Plessis has hogged the local mixed martial arts (MMA) headlines with his world-class performances in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a US-based fight promotion company.

Now the global Professional Fighters League (PFL) is also coming to South Africa, making its African debut here in July.

The PFL says the event, scheduled for July 19 at GrandWest in Cape Town, marks a groundbreaking moment in its global expansion.

As professional female MMA fighter Ceileigh Nedermayer explains, MMA is the sport itself, while the UFC and PFL are among the different promotional bodies found all over the world which run events and fights.

Nedermayer, known as The Smiling Savage, ironically describes herself as the 'most non-confrontational person you'll ever meet'.

What drew her to martial arts as a young child was mastering the different techniques involved, she says.

"I started with karate at the age of five, then moved to kickboxing, and from there it evolved... From the get-go I was just obsessed with the techniques of martial arts."

"So yes, violence and hurting the other person is a consequence of our technical application, but it doesn't come from a place of malicious intent... We both know what we're getting in there to do to each other. I even look at it like I'm helping that person because I'm going to teach them some lessons."

"I had a desire to know if I can actually fight; with the limiting rules of karate and kickboxing, MMA is our closest version of real-life fighting and it evolved till I ended up in a cage!"

Ceileigh Nedermayer, Professional Female MMA Fighter

Nedermayer describes the local introduction of the global PFL as a historical moment for MMA in Africa which will change the combat game at home and on the continent as a whole.

She'll be fighting Juliet Ukah from Nigeria at the Grand Arena on 19 July.

The PFL has also announced that a second Africa event will take place at Carnival City in Johannesburg on 9 August.

Tickets are available on Ticketpro for Cape Town and Joburg.

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview