Nigeria’s Juliet Ukah, aka Golden Bones, will put her unbeaten 8-0 record on the line against compatriot Jane ‘The Slayer’ Osigwe at PFL Africa: Pretoria on 10 April at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa. The women’s strawweight bout will be showcased at 115lbs.
Ukah, a 26-year-old corporal in the Nigeria Police Force, enters the fight as one of the most recognisable faces in African MMA. She became the first female fighter from Africa signed by the PFL in 2025, and she has not wasted the opportunity.
In July of that year, she won the first-ever women’s bout in PFL Africa history by outpointing South Africa’s Ceileigh Niedermayr over three rounds in Cape Town. She followed that up by stopping Egypt’s Maryam Gaber via first-round TKO at the PFL Africa Finals in Benin. Speaking ahead of the Osigwe fight, Ukah made it clear she is excited to return.
“I feel so happy coming into a new year and having the PFL come again, and also [I am] happy fighting on the first card of the year,” Ukah said.
Her path to MMA was anything but conventional. In 2022, she was asked by Henry George, now president of the Nigeria Mixed Martial Arts Federation, to step in as a late replacement on a fight card in Cameroon. She had little understanding of MMA rules at the time and considered pulling out. She won that debut and has not lost since.
Outside the PFL cage, she was inspired to join the Nigeria Police Force by Chioma Ajunwa, the police officer who won Nigeria’s first Olympic gold medal in the long jump at the 1996 Atlanta Games. She also has experience in taekwondo, boxing, and kickboxing.
Asked whether she has studied Osigwe’s game, Ukah kept it short: “I [do] know nothing much about my opponent.” She did acknowledge, though, that every fight demands something different. “Each fight has its own preparation and game plans,” she said.
Osigwe, who is just 20 years old, comes in riding a two-fight winning streak. She built her name through the African Knockout promotion, founded by former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, and captured the AKO Women’s Bantamweight Interim Championship by beating Morocco’s Sanaa Mandar last August. Most of her professional wins have been TKO/KO finishes, and she is known for a high-pace, pressure-heavy style that pushes opponents backwards. This will be her PFL debut, and she will be moving down from bantamweight to 115 lbs for the first time in PFL competition.
Ukah fights long, uses leg kicks and counter-punching, and has proven she can defend takedowns and out-work opponents across three rounds. Osigwe prefers to close the distance quickly, get inside the pocket, and throw volume.
For fans expecting fireworks, Ukah had a message, both for Osigwe and for those watching. “I expect my fans to watch and believe I have come to give them an even better [performance] than before,” she said. As for Osigwe directly, Ukah kept it simple: “I don’t have much [to] talk outside the cage. I talk more in the cage. So best of luck, let’s do this.”
PFL Africa: Pretoria airs live from the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa. The main event features inaugural PFL Africa Bantamweight Champion Nkosi Ndebele against Italy’s Michele Clemente, with a heavyweight co-main between South Africa’s Justin Clarke and Senegal’s Abdoulaye Kane.
For Ukah, Pretoria is another chance to extend her perfect record and strengthen her place at the front of African women’s MMA, this time against a fellow Nigerian who is hungry for her own breakthrough. Osigwe brings power, momentum, and a belt from AKO. With one unbeaten police corporal defending hard-earned ground and a 20-year-old finisher moving into the global spotlight, their strawweight showcase has all the ingredients to be one of the talking points of PFL Africa’s return to SunBet Arena.
