PFL’s first-ever Middle East and North Africa (MENA) season culminated on Friday night, taking place just a few hours before the promotion’s flagship season concluded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The season, which PFL launched as part of their partnership with investors in Saudi Arabia, saw fighters at welterweight, lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight capture belts this weekend. Here’s what happened.
Substitute Finalist Al-Qahtani Scores Quick Win In Welterweight Clash
Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Al-Qahtani, who was initially not expected to make the PFL MENA Featherweight Championship fight, made the most of his second chance in the tournament by stopping Maraoune Bellagouit in the opening round.
The damaging shots from Al-Qahtani quickly became too much for Bellagouit, who was rocked numerous times before the finishing sequence just a few minutes into the fight.
After dropping Bellagouit with a right hand, Al-Qahtani continued advancing on him with more shots. A flurry of shots on the feet – which seemingly included an unintentional clash of heads – caused Bellagouit to fall to the canvas once again, ending the fight.
While the PFL MENA featherweight finals were initially meant to be headlined by a fight between Abdalrahman Alhyasat and Islam Reda, both Al-Qahtani and Bellagouit were slotted into the finals after both fighters had to withdraw from the card.
Al-Qahtani and Bellagouit lost in the semi-finals of the tournament via decision but were given a second chance after the changes made to this weekend’s show.
El Dafrawy Snaps Alaqraa’s Undefeated Record In Welterweight Final
Underdog Omar El Dafrawy avenged a previous loss to Mohammad Alaqraa, snapping the AKA prospect’s undefeated record and scoring the PFL MENA Welterweight Championship.
Countering Alaqraa’s plan to keep the fight on the ground, El Dafrawy was able to find the opening for a stoppage in the second round.
Hard punches from El Dafrawy while defending a takedown attempt put Alaqraa out in the second round, causing the referee to step in and end the fight less than a full minute into the frame. An uppercut followed by a series of hammerfist punches visibly damaged Alaqraa from this position, calling an end to the contest.
The sudden stoppage came after a solid opening round from Alaqraa, who secured a takedown and searched for a rear naked choke attempt before the frame expired. After a strong start on the ground, Alaqraa once again looked to take the fight to the ground. However, it ended up costing him greatly.
El Dafrawy picked up a massive victory just two months prior in the tournament, beating former PFL regular season fighter Jarrah Al-Silawi via first-round stoppage.
El Dafrawy, while initially booed significantly by the live crowd after his win, got the audience on his side by explaining a message of unity between Arab countries.
“There is Arabian fighters coming to the scene that will eat you alive,” he said during his post-fight interview.
Alaqraa, a 25-year-old prospect from the notable American Kickboxing Academy gym, entered this weekend with an undefeated record of seven wins. Among his past victories was a 2023 victory over El Dafrawy as part of a UAE Warriors card.
Taleb Knocks Out El Hazoume In Just 85 Seconds
The explosive striking skills of Ali Taleb, which has led to six of his past pro wins, brought the 27-year-old to the PFL MENA Bantamweight Championship on Friday night.
Taleb scored an 85-second win against Rachid El Hazoume this weekend, using his crisp boxing to end the bout so early.
Taleb visibly hurt El Hazoume with a two-punch combination early in the fight, causing his opponent to retreat. Advancing on El Hazoume, Taleb caught a kick and then countered with a clean right hook to knock him out.
The former UAE Warriors Bantamweight Champion was coming off another fast performance from earlier in the tournament, beating Jalal Al Daaja via first-round finish in September. Before then, he got past Nawras Abzakh in May.
The win on Friday made Taleb a regional PFL champion after two seasons with the brand. He previously fought in the inaugural 2023 PFL Europe season, getting eliminated in the semi-finals by Khurshed Kakhorov.
Mohammedseifi Edges Out Five-Round Decision Against Eid
Mohsen Mohammadseifi became the first-ever PFL MENA champ in the promotion’s history, winning the lightweight tournament with a close unanimous decision win over Georges Eid.
Apart from a flashy moment in the fourth favoring the victorious fighter, the MENA lightweight finals was mostly a cautious five-round stand-up battle. The 155-pound talents nearly matched each other with both output and accuracy, often letting go with just singular shots or quick two-strike combinations.
The biggest part of the fight for Mohammadseifi came in the fourth when he suddenly dropped Eid with a clean left hook. He followed this pronounced moment in the bout by briefly upping his output on the feet, unloading with multi-punch combinations against a recovering Eid.
Mohammadseifi, a former Brave CF talent, scored a first-round finish win over Josh Togo earlier this year and secured a PFL MENA grand final spot with a decision win over Souhil Tairi in September.
Eid was coming off a big win from the bracket’s semi-finals, ending the undefeated run of Omar Reguigui with a 97-second finish due to strikes. Before then, he beat Abbas Khan in the season’s opening round.
Quick Results
Main Card (1:00PM EST / 9:00PM AST) (ESPN+)
Bout 16: Timur Khizriev def. Brendan Loughnane via Decision, Unanimous (PFL Featherweight Championship)
Bout 15: Dakota Ditcheva def. Taila Santos via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:41) (PFL Flyweight Championship)
Bout 14: Dovlet Yagshimuradov def. Impa Kasanganay via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:58) (PFL Light Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 13: Shamil Musaev def. Magomed Umalatov via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 1:44) (PFL Welterweight Championship)
Bout 12: Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Brent Primus via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 2:31) (PFL Lightweight Championship)
Bout 11: Denis Goltsov def. Oleg Popov via Submission, Triangle Choke (RD 1, 2:55) (PFL Heavyweight Championship)
PFL MENA Finals (9:30AM EST / 4:30PM AST) (ESPN+)
Bout 10: Abdullah Al-Qahtani def. Maraoune Bellagouit via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:21) (PFL MENA Featherweight Championship)
Bout 9: Omar El Dafrawy def. Mohammad Alaqraa via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 0:57) (PFL MENA Welterweight Championship)
Bout 8: Hattan Alsaif def. Lilia Osmani via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:37) (Amateur)
Bout 7: Ali Taleb def. Rachid El Hazoume via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:25) (PFL MENA Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 6: Mohsen Mohammadseifi def. Georges Eid via Decision, Unanimous (PFL MENA Lightweight Championship)
Preliminary Card (7:15AM EST / 2:15PM AST) (ESPN+)
Bout 5: Mansour Barnaoui def. Alfie Davis via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 3:41)
Bout 4: Slim Trabelsi def. Abraham Bably via Decision, Split
Bout 3: Grabriel Braga def. Jeremy Kennedy via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Asael Adjoudj def. Jose Perez via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 3, 1:10)
Bout 1: Costello van Steenis def. Joao Vitor Dantas via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:48)
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