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Tag: PFL MENA

  • PFL MENA 9: Yahya vs. Saadi Live Updates & Highlights

    PFL MENA results and highlights are updated live as the action unfolds from the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The main event will feature a featherweight bout between Mohammad Yahya and Mehdi Saadi. MMANews has you covered with all the results and highlights!

    Mohammad Yahya vs. Mehdi Saadi – Featherweight Main Event

    This marks the first PFL MENA event to be held outside Saudi Arabia. This card was originally planned to take place in Saudi Arabia on May 8; however, the event was relocated and rescheduled to today due to the ongoing tension and conflicts in the Middle East.

    This main event will serve as one of two featherweight quarterfinal bouts on this card.

    This is Yahya’s first fight in the PFL and first fight since parting ways with the UFC last year after an 0-3 stint. He was the lightweight champion in UAE Warriors and has also fought for Bellator and Desert Force.

    Saadi also makes his PFL debut today, competing for the first time since January 2024. The 6-2 fighter comes into this bout off a finish of Jalal Al Daaja in UAE Warriors.

    The co-main event will feature one of four lightweight tournament quarterfinal matchups tonight, as Salah Eddine Hamli takes on Ylies Djiroun.

    The undefeated Hamli is the defending PFL MENA lightweight champion. He claimed last year’s tournament title with submission victories over Abbas Khan, Souhil Tairi, and Mohammad Fahmi.

    Djiroun competed in the 2019 PFL season, as well as having fought for promotions like BRAVE CF and ARES FC. Djiroun has won six of his last seven bouts, most recently submitting Antonio Roberto in 45 seconds in January.

    If you can’t watch the action, check here for all the latest results and highlights from PFL MENA 9!

    How to Watch PFL MENA 9

    • Date: Sunday, May 24, 2026
    • Venue: Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
    • Streaming: YouTube
    • Prelims: 9 AM ET / 6 AM PT
    • Main Card: 11:30 AM ET / 8:30 AM PT

    PFL MENA 9 Results & Highlights

    Preliminary Card (YouTube, 9 AM ET)

    Amateur Featherweight: Butti Alameri vs. Hamada Mohamed Osman

    Result:Butti Alameei def. Hamada Mohamed Osman via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

    Welterweight: Ahmed Albrahim vs. Khaled Mahmoud

    Result: Ahmed Albarahim def. Khaled Mahmoud via TKO (Rd. 3, 2:47)

    Flyweight: Hamad Marhoon vs. Saher Qasmieh

    Result: Saher Qasmieh def. Hamad Marhoon via split decision (28-29, 29-28 x2)

    Lightweight Quarterfinal: Ahmed El Sisy vs. Harda Karim

    Result: Ahmed El Sisy def. Harda Karim via split decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)

    Lightweight Quarterfinal: Abdullah Saleem vs. Basel Shalaan

    Result: Basel Shalaan def. Abdullah Saleem via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x3)

    Main Card (YouTube, 11:30 AM ET)

    Amateur Women’s Strawweight: Zamzam Al Hammadi vs. Abeer Mansour

    Result: Zamzam Al Hammadi def. Abeer Mansour via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

    Lightweight Quarterfinal: Mohammad Fahmi vs. Assem Ghanem

    Result: BOUT CANCELED DUE TO GHANEM INJURY PRIOR TO FIGHT; FAHMI ADVANCES IN THE TOURNAMENT BY DEFAULT

    Featherweight Quarterfinal: Hamza Kooheji vs. Taha Bendaoud

    Result: Hamza Kooheji def. Taha Bendaoud via unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

    Lightweight Quarterfinal: Salah Eddine Hamli vs. Ylies Djiroun

    Result: Ylies Djiroun def. Salah Eddine Hamli via TKO (Rd. 1, 4:20)

    Featherweight Quarterfinal: Mohammad Yahya vs. Mehdi Saadi

    Result: Mehdi Saadi def. Mohammad Yahya via split decision (27-30, 30-27, 29-28)

  • PFL MENA 2026 Season Kickoff Officially Rescheduled For Dubai

    PFL MENA 2026 Season Kickoff Officially Rescheduled For Dubai

    After the original plans for the 2026 season kickoff were postponed, PFL MENA’s first event for this calendar year has now been officially rescheduled.

    Per an announcement from the PFL, the first PFL MENA card of 2026 will now take place on Sunday, May 24.

    For the first time, a PFL MENA card will take place outside of Saudi Arabia. This event will take place at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This is the same arena that has hosted two PFL Champions Series events in 2025, both headlined by Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes, and PFL Dubai this past February, which featured Nurmagomedov vs. Alfie Davis.

    “Dubai is a key market for PFL MENA and a global hub for sport and entertainment, making it the ideal stage for our 2026 season opener, aptly titled ‘Pride of Arabia,’” PFL MENA General Manager Jerome Mazet said in a statement. “Dubai has consistently shown its passion for MMA, and we are excited to bring local stars like Mohammad Yahya and Zamzam Al Hammadi to perform in front of a home crowd.

    “As the beating heart of sport and entertainment in the Arab world, Dubai offers a truly unique atmosphere, with athletes representing multiple nations, we know fans from across the region will be in the arena to support their own. There’s no city that connects cultures, fans and fighters quite like Dubai.”

    PFL MENA’s first event of 2026 was originally scheduled for Friday, May 8, at the Dhahran Expo in Khobar, Saudi Arabia. PFL announced the event’s postponement in a press release on April 9.

    Though PFL did not give a reason for the postponement in its cancellation press release, it is assumed the decision was made due to ongoing tensions and conflict in the Middle East. Despite this, the PFL is going forward with a PFL event in May.

    The May 24 card will feature opening-round matchups in the promotion’s featherweight and lightweight tournaments.

    The main event will see Mohammad Yahya face Mehdi Saadi in a featherweight tournament contest. The co-main event will be a lightweight tournament bout that pits unbeaten Salah Eddine Hamli against Ylies Djiroun.

  • PFL MENA 2026 Season Opening Event In May Postponed

    PFL MENA 2026 Season Opening Event In May Postponed

    The 2026 PFL MENA season will not start in its traditional early May slot.

    In a press release from April 9, the PFL has announced that the opening card for the PFL MENA season this year has been postponed.

    The event was originally scheduled for Friday, May 8, at the Dhahran Expo in Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

    “The Professional Fighters League today announced that PFL MENA 9, originally scheduled to take place in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia on May 8, has been postponed as the league finalizes updated event plans for the 2026 PFL MENA season,” the statement read. “All previously announced bouts will move forward as part of the 2026 PFL MENA season opener, with updated event details, including date and location, to be announced soon.

    “All ticket holders will receive a full refund, which will be processed within the next 30 days. The Professional Fighters League remains committed to the continued growth of mixed martial arts across the region and intends to return to Al Khobar later this year as part of its 2026 event calendar.”

    Though no reason was given in the press release, it’s assumed the PFL MENA postponement is due to ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

    Last year’s PFL MENA season saw Mohammad Alaqraa win the welterweight tournament title, Salah Eddine Hamli win at lightweight, Islam Reda win at featherweight, and Nawras Abzakh win at bantamweight.

    The PFL’s other regional-based promotion, PFL Africa, begins its second season tomorrow, Friday, April 10, at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa.

    The UFC is scheduled to appear in the region on June 27 with their second UFC Baku event in Azerbaijan, as they did last June. Like the last couple of years, the UFC is also targeting Fight Night events in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. The UFC has also held an autumn pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi annually since 2019 (except the period when “Fight Island” was used during the COVID era).

    The UFC has not announced any plans to postpone these plans.

  • 2025 PFL MENA Championships Results & Highlights

    2025 PFL MENA Championships Results & Highlights

    The PFL MENA season wrapped up on Friday, December 5, and we have all the results and highlights from the action here at MMA News!

    PFL MENA was set up last year as part of the promotion’s expansion efforts, and alongside the already-established PFL Europe and PFL Africa, and the soon-to-debut PFL Pacific, PFL MENA has ventured on into its second season.

    The card took place at the Dhahran Expo in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, and featured the finals in all four weight classes PFL MENA has tournaments in — welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight.

    The main event saw Mohammad Alaqraa, who fell short in last year’s PFL MENA welterweight final, capture this year’s tournament title by defeating Badreddine Diani. The fight was primarily a kickboxing battle to start, with Alaqraa bringing more of the forward pressure and landing the cleaner power shots in the first 10 minutes. The third round was more competitive and saw brief grappling exchanges, but Alaqraa solidified his momentum with top positioning and short strikes throughout the fourth round. Diani pushed his own grappling in the final round, looking for takedowns and back control, but Alaqraa would take the decision and tournament title.

    In the co-main event, Salah Eddine Hamli captured the PFL MENA lightweight tournament title with a submission win over Mohammad Fahmi. Fahmi opened the fight aggressively, but Hamli steadily answered with low kicks and sharp counters. After Hamli stunned Fahmi in the first, Fahmi appeared to be tiring out in the second round through multiple takedown attempts. Hamli controlled the action, landing the more effective strikes. After one more takedown attempt from Fahmi, Hamli locked up a D’Arce choke to score the second-round submission and PFL MENA tournament title.

    Islam Reda captured the tournament title at featherweight, defeating Yanis Ghemmouri. Though neither man took clear control in the first round, with both having their moments, Ghemmouri scored a takedown in round two and looked to do damage. But Reda used headlocks and chokes threats to counteract, resulting in a grinding battle between the two. Reda would lock up a D’Arce choke on the ground in the final minute of round two to claim the title.

    The title fights opened with Nawras Abzakh winning the 2025 PFL MENA bantamweight title in mere seconds. After a level change attempt by opponent Islam Youssef to counter Abzakh’s forward pressure, Abzakh locked him up in a guillotine. A slam was attempted by Youssef but was unsuccessful in freeing him, leading to a 36-second submission for Abzakh.

    The event was broadcast on DAZN in most countries, as well as on the PFL App in the U.S and on Vice TV. If you couldn’t watch any of the action, MMA News has you covered with the full results and all the highlights below.

    2025 PFL MENA Championships Results & Highlights

    • Welterweight Tournament Championship: Mohammad Alaqraa def. Badreddine Diani via unanimous decision (49–46, 48–47, 48–47)
    • Lightweight Tournament Championship: Salah Eddine Hamli def. Mohammad Fahmi via submission (brabo choke) (R2, 4:05)
    • Featherweight Tournament Championship: Islam Reda def. Yanis Ghemmouri via submission (anaconda choke) (R2, 4:46)
    • Bantamweight Tournament Championship: Nawras Abzakh def. Islam Youssef via submission (guillotine choke) (R1, 0:36)
    • Flyweight: Malik Basahel def. Mahmoud Atef via TKO (R1, 3:13)
    • Lightweight: Ahmed El Sisy def. Abbas Khan via unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 30–27
    • Welterweight (Amateur Bout): Ahmed Albrahim def. Mohamed Nabil via TKO (punches) (R2, 2:45)
    • Flyweight: Hamad Marhoon def. Oualid Gounaine via submission (guillotine choke) (R1, 1:39)

    Hamad Marhoon vs. Oualid Gounaine

    Ahmed Albrahim vs. Mohamed Nabil

    Abbas Khan vs. Ahmed El Sisy

    Malik Basahel vs. Mahmoud Atef

    Nawras Abzakh vs. Islam Youssef

    https://twitter.com/PFLMMA/status/1996976420132622810?s=20

    Islam Reda vs. Yanis Ghemmouri

    https://twitter.com/PFLMMA/status/1996985413953523873?s=20

    Salah Eddine Hali vs. Mohammad Fahmi

    https://twitter.com/PFLMMA/status/1996992629612167302?s=20

    Mohammad Alaqraa vs. Badreddine Diani

  • 2025 PFL MENA 3 Results & Highlights

    2025 PFL MENA 3 Results & Highlights

    The PFL MENA season continues on Saturday, September 27, and we have all the results and highlights from the action here at MMA News!

    PFL MENA was set up last year as part of the promotion’s expansion efforts, and alongside the already-established PFL Europe and soon-to-debut PFL Africa and PFL Pacific, PFL MENA has ventured on into its second season.

    The card takes place at The Arena Riyadh Venue for Exhibitions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and will feature the semifinals in all four weight classes PFL MENA has tournaments in — welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight.

    The main event will feature a semifinal in the welterweight tournament, as Mohammad Alaqraa takes on Ayman Galal. Alaqraa, the runner-up of last year’s welterweight tournament, reached tonight’s semifinal with a decision win over Omar Hussein in July. Galal, meanwhile, originally lost his first-round matchup with Mohamed Zarey, but the result was overturned to a no-contest after a failed drug test, resulting in Galal advancing.

    The co-main event will see Mohsen Mohammadseifi facing Mohammad Fahmi in a lightweight semifinal bout. Mohammadseifi, last year’s lightweight tournament champion, began his quest for a second straight title with a decision win over Ahmed El Sisy in May. Fahmi pulled off a stunning first-round submission of Georges Eid on that same card.

    The event will be broadcast on DAZN in most countries, as well as on the PFL App in the U.S. If you can’t watch any of the action, MMA News has you covered with the full results and all the highlights below.

    2025 PFL MENA 3 Results & Highlights

    Main Card:

    • Welterweight: Mohammad Alaqraa def. Ayman Galal via TKO (injury) (R1, 0:21)
    • Lightweight: Mohammad Fahmi def. Mohsen Mohammadseifi via submission (rear-naked choke) (R1, 4:25)
    • Flyweight Showcase: Malik Basahel def. Ahmed Mostafa via submission (rear-naked choke) (R2, 1:54)
    • Bantamweight: Islam Youssef def. Xavier Alaoui via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
    • Lightweight: Salah Eddine Hamli def. Souhil Tairi via submission (arm-triangle choke) (R3, 1:30)
    • Featherweight: Islam Reda def. Taha Bendaoud via unanimous decision (30-26 x2, 30-27)

    Preliminary Card:

    • Catchweight (160 lbs) Amateur Bout: Hassan Ahmed Moustafa def. Abdulaziz bin Moammar via split decision (28-29, 29-28 x2)
    • Bantamweight: Nawras Abzakh def. Moktar Benkaci via unanimous decision (29-27 x2, 30-26)
    • Welterweight: Badreddine Diani def. Amir Fazli via split decision (27-30, 29-28 x2)
    • Featherweight: Yanis Ghemmouri def. Izzeddine Al Derbani via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)

    Yanis Ghemmouri vs. Izzeddine Al Derbani

    Badreddine Diani vs. Amir Fazli

    Moktar Benkaci vs. Nawras Abzakh

    Abdulaziz bin Moammar vs. Hassan Ahmed Moustafa

    Islam Reda vs. Taha Bendaoud

    Salah Eddine Hamli vs. Souhil Tairi

    Xavier Alaoui vs. Islam Youssef

    Malik Basahel vs. Ahmed Mostafa

    Mohsen Mohammadseifi vs. Mohammad Fahmi

    https://twitter.com/PFLMMA/status/1972025392384168114

    Mohammad Alaqraa vs. Ayman Galal

  • 2025 PFL MENA 2 Results & Highlights

    2025 PFL MENA 2 Results & Highlights

    The PFL MENA season continued on Friday, July 4, and we have all the results and highlights from the action here at MMA News!

    PFL MENA was set up last year as part of the promotion’s expansion efforts, and alongside the already-established PFL Europe and soon-to-debut PFL Africa and PFL Pacific, PFL MENA has ventured on into its second season.

    The card took place at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

    In the showcase main event, 2024 PFL MENA welterweight champion Omar El Dafrawy was able to come away with a quick submission win over 2023 PFL Europe welterweight finalist Daniele Miceli. Miceli scored a takedown and looked to get a Von Flue choke submission. But El Dafrawy escaped it and was able to lock up a triangle choke, surviving a pair of slams before getting the tap just 1:15 into the fight.

    Hattan Alsaif competed in her fourth amateur MMA bout on this night as well, scoring another second-round finish in front of a hometown crowd. Alsaif defeated Nour Al Fliti after a knockdown saw Al Fliti suffer an injury to her right leg.

    The 2024 PFL bantamweight and welterweight tournaments opened on this night, as participants looked to get their way into the semifinals this fall.

    In addition to being broadcasted live on DAZN in most countries, this event marked the first time that American viewers could watch an international PFL event live on the PFL App!

    If you missed any of the action, we here at MMA News have you covered with everything that went down. See below!

    2025 PFL MENA 2 Results & Highlights

    • Welterweight Showcase Main Event: Omar El Dafrawy def. Daniele Miceli via first-round submission (triangle choke)
    • Welterweight Co-Main Event: Mohammad Alaqraa def. Omar Hussein
    • Amateur Women’s Atomweight Showcase: Hattan Alsaif def. Nour Al Fliti via second-round verbal submission (retirement [injury])
    • Welterweight: Mohamed Zarey def. Ayman Galal via unanimous decision
    • Bantamweight: Xavier Alaoui def. Ziad Ayman Mokhtar via unanimous decision
    • Bantamweight: Moktar Benkaci def. Marcel Adur via first-round TKO (body punch)
    • Welterweight: Badreddine Diani def. Ahmad Abdelbast Darwish via unanimous decision
    • Welterweight: Amir Fazli def. Rostem Akman via second-round KO
    • Bantamweight: Nawras Abzakh def. Ali Yazbeck via second-round KO (knee and strikes)
    • Bantamweight: Islam Youssef def. Benyamin Ghahraman via second-round KO (flying kick)
    • Lightweight: Abdelrahman Alhyasat def. Anthony Zeidan via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)

    Abdelrahman Alhyasat def. Anthony Zeidan

    Islam Youssef def. Benyamin Ghahraman

    Nawras Abzakh def. Ali Yazbeck

    Amir Fazli def. Rostem Akman

    Badreddine Diani def. Ahmad Abdelbast Darwish

    Moktar Benkaci def. Marcel Adur

    Xavier Alaoui def. Ziad Ayman Mokhtar

    Mohamed Zarey def. Ayman Galal

    Hattan Alsaif def. Nour Al Fliti

    Mohammad Alaqraa def. Omar Hussein

    Omar El Dafrawy def. Daniele Miceli

  • VIDEO: Abdullah Al-Qahtani Gets Knockout In Wild First-Round Brawl To Earn PFL MENA Title

    VIDEO: Abdullah Al-Qahtani Gets Knockout In Wild First-Round Brawl To Earn PFL MENA Title

    Abdullah Al-Qahtani has been a prime face of the PFL’s expansion into the Middle East, and he continued that trend by defeating Marouane Bellagouit to become the inaugural PFL MENA featherweight champion.

    The two headlined the MENA portion of the PFL World Championship card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday.

    Al-Qahtani and Bellagouit traded strikes in an intense exchange, with both landing powerful shots. The Saudi favorite ultimately dropped his Moroccan counterpart twice over the course of the round, overwhelming him with a relentless flurry of punches to put him away and win the gold.

    Al-Qahtani debuted in the PFL last year as the first Saudi talent in the promotion’s history. He won five straight fights before losing to Abdalrahman Alhyasat in September. Alhyasat’s inability to make tonight’s title fight, however, resulted in another chance for Al-Qahtani to step up and earn the gold.

    Bellagouit, a veteran of UAE Warriors, defeated Mido Mohamed earlier this year but lost to Islam Reda in September’s PFL MENA semifinals. However, he also reached the final as a result of Reda being unable to make the walk.

    With the PFL MENA championship card complete, the likes of Brendan Loughnane, Dakota Ditcheva, and Impa Kasanganay will compete for PFL Global gold and $1 million in prize money on the main card at King Saud University.

  • VIDEO: Ali Taleb Demolishes Opponent In Under 2 Minutes To Win PFL MENA Title

    VIDEO: Ali Taleb Demolishes Opponent In Under 2 Minutes To Win PFL MENA Title

    Ali Taleb brought out a vicious performance that ended in a quick knockout to capture the first-ever PFL MENA bantamweight championship in Saudi Arabia.

    After a bit of kick-heavy attacks from his opponent, Rachid El Hazoume, Taleb stunned him with a one-two, namely from an uppercut, before launching a flurry that ended with him dropping the Moroccan with a right hand.

    The fight came to a close with just 85 seconds on the clock.

    Taleb reached the finals at today’s PFL World Championship with wins over Nawras Abzakh and Jalal Al Daja. He competed in the inaugural PFL Europe season last year, falling short against Khurshed Kakhorov in the semifinals.

    El Hazoume, meanwhile, entered the fight with seven wins in his last eight fights, including over Xavier Alaoui and Elias Boudegzdame to reach the 135-pound final.

    After the four PFL MENA titles are handed, 12 fighters will compete for PFL Global glory on the main card at Riyadh’s King Saud University.