KNOX LEGACY SERIES LAUNCHING IN CAPE TOWN 2026
Major MMA action is hitting Cape Town in 2026 with the launch of the Knox Legacy Series, a new international event backed by UFC superstar Dricus du Plessis.
A partnership between EFC, KNOX Hydrate and the City of Cape Town, the inaugural Knox Legacy Series will take place on 26 February 2026 at GrandWest Arena.
Positioned as a global showcase, the event will feature Cape Town’s top MMA athletes competing against international opponents, with the production and broadcast scale expected to reach audiences around the world, spotlighting the Knox Legacy Series.
The event is the brainchild of du Plessis, who is also the co-founder of KNOX, with the intention of further developing the sport locally and internationally.
A vision for African MMA
Du Plessis, South Africa’s first ever UFC champion, spoke about the desire to provide opportunities for upcoming fighters.
“I know how hard it is to make it happen when you’re starting off in this sport,” he said, aiming to use the Knox Legacy Series as a platform for success.
“I think in South Africa and Africa as a whole we have so little in comparison to the other fighting countries, but we have managed to do so great. This vision is to give back to the sport that gave me everything. This is not me doing this, this is me doing this alongside the EFC that has invested in this sport since I was 14 or 15 years old.”
Cape Town signals support for major combat sports
The City of Cape Town is backing the Knox Legacy Series with the intent to establish Cape Town as a premier destination for world-class combat sports.
“Cape Town is super excited to host this event along with Knox and the EFC. We are always keen to bring more events down to Cape Town, especially global sporting events like this one,” said Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis
“There is a huge fan base in Cape Town, we know there will be big support for the event in the city and we know it will be broadcast nationally and internationally. This will help us significantly in showing that Cape Town can host a UFC title bout with Dricus in the future, further cementing the Knox Legacy Series’ importance to the region.”
Cape Town has already shown its capability of hosting major MMA events with the successful 2025 PFL Africa Tournament in July.
A major start for EFC 2026 calendar
EFC President Cairo Howarth confirmed that the Knox Legacy Series will officially open the organisation’s 2026 season.
“It’s going to be broadcast around the world globally on different TV networks. It’s going to have unbelievable digital traction, we literally talking about hundreds of millions of people watching. We are super excited for it and really grateful for the opportunity. Big news to come in the coming weeks,” said Howarth.
He said the Knox Legacy Series event will air across multiple global broadcast networks with significant digital reach.
EFC has already announced three-time EFC middleweight champ Luke Michael, current Bantamweight title holder Faeez Jacobs, Terence Balelo, Tumelo Manyamala and Adrian Sanchez will be on the card for the Knox Legacy Series.
Their international opponents will be announced in the coming weeks.
