PFL’s second-ever year running a tour in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region started on Friday evening, with featherweight and lightweight talents beginning their tournament runs inside the Onyx Arena in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Just like the promotion’s debut run in 2024, this year will similarly see four different weight classes participate in eight-man tournaments over the course of six months.
At featherweight, a class where a new champ will be found this year, it was undefeated prospects Taha Bendaoud, Assem Ghanem, and 2024 semi-finalist Islam Reda who advanced past the quarter-final round this week.
A fourth quarter-final fight was expected to take place between Izzeddine Al Derbani and former UFC fighter Yanis Ghemmouri, although an illness to Al Derbani caused the bout to be delayed. Their fight will instead take place in early July, as announced on the broadcast.
Defending lightweight champ Mohsen Mohammadseifi advanced to the semi-finals alongside Salah Eddine Hamli, Mohammad Fahmi, and Souhil Tairi.
Here’s a recap of the full show:
2024 Champ Mohammadseifi Cruises Into Semi-Finals
Defending PFL MENA Lightweight Champion Mohsen Mohammadseifi opened his 2025 run with a solid performance against Ahmed El Sisy, out-landing the tough Egyptian fighter through 15 minutes to take a unanimous decision result.
Mohammadseifi, who has earned four wins since joining the PFL roster last year, had to deal with a durable El Sisy, who ate hard punches throughout the bout and was willing to return fire with his own solid strikes. But, after 15 minutes, it was clear who would emerge with the scorecard nod.
Salah Eddine Hamli’s three-round showing against Abbas Khan came to an end in the third, when he locked in a rear naked choke for a submission victory. Hamli used his control on the ground to gain an upper hand earlier in the fight, but had to battle through some tough stand-up exchanges from Khan, notably getting dropped early with a left hook.
PFL newcomer Hamli has yet to lose since his 2022 pro debut. Khan is now unsuccessful in back-to-back PFL MENA seasons, previously getting eliminated by Georges Eid in the 2024 quarter-final round.
In an upset result from the opening round, experienced grappler Mohammad Fahmi took out 2024 finalist Georges Eid in the first round. Fahmi, who entered this tournament with just a few pro fights to his name, wrestled Eid down early in the first round and transitioned into a D’Arce Choke for the win in just over three minutes.
Fahmi has only fought as a pro since 2022 and had previously only faced fighters with similarly low levels of pro experience in MMA. This made it somewhat of a shock that he was able to get an early tap on Eid, a pro of over a decade who went two-for-three in 2024.
2024 semi-finalist Souhil Tairi was the first fighter of the night to advance past the quarter-finals, using his striking to successfully counter a grappling-focused game plan from Abdullah Saleem. After a rough first round, which saw Tairi have to defend himself from a rear naked choke attempt, he found separation for his strikes in the second round and started to land.
Tairi came forward with a clean knee to the head in the second round against a visibly tired Saleem, who shot for a takedown moments later. Tairi landed a pair of ground and pound strikes while defending the takedown – it was at this moment that the referee stepped in and ended the bout, in what seemed like somewhat of an early stoppage.
Algeria’s Tairi was eliminated from the lightweight tournament last year in the semi-finals by Mohsen Mohammadseifi. If successful in the semi-finals, they could be set for a rematch later this year. Saleem also participated in last year’s tournament, but was removed from the bracket after a failed drug test.
Bendaoud Advances Through Quarter-Finals With Fast Submission Win
Taha Bendaoud had the easiest night of all tournament competitors, catching featherweight Drissi Boualem in just over two minutes with a triangle choke. Bendaoud moved into a full mount after scoring a takedown early in the fight, then slipped in a triangle choke after moving to his back. It didn’t take long for him to lock in the submission after first applying it, forcing a tap and snapping Boualem’s undefeated record.
The strong showing marked Bendaoud’s fifth pro win since debuting back in 2022. The Moroccan fighter has relied on the triangle choke for three of his five wins, including his PFL debut last year against Tariq Ismail as part of the promotion’s pay-per-view “Super Fight” card in Riyadh.
Assem Ghanem had an impressive PFL debut in his quarter-final bout, remaining undefeated with a dominant three-round performance against Hussein Salem. Ghanem kept Salem on his back for most of the fight, grounding and pounding his way to a comfortable scorecard win.
Egypt’s Ghanem received the call-up to PFL MENA after earning a title in his home country, beating Huseyin Bastanov at Qadya MMA 4. Salem entered this weekend with the momentum of back-to-back finish wins, including a one-off appearance in ONE Championship.
Islam Reda closed out a commanding performance against short-notice talent Akram Nasri with ground and pound in the fight’s dying moments. Prior to the stoppage, Reda had controlled large portions of the fight in grappling exchanges, likely putting him on pace to win on scorecards had the bout gone the full 15 minutes.
This year is a chance at redemption for Reda, who earned two PFL MENA wins last year but had to withdraw from the grand final round. He was initially expected to face 2024 champ Abdullah Al-Qahtani this week, although he was given Nasri on short notice after the Saudi Arabian talent was pulled from the card due to injury.
Here are the quick results:
Bout 11: Mohsen Mohammadseifi def. Ahmed El Sisy via Decision, Unanimous (Lightweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 10: Salah Eddine Hamli def. Abbas Khan via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 3, 2:05) (Lightweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 9: Taha Bendaoud def. Drissi Boualem via Submission, Triangle Choke (RD 1, 2:07) (Featherweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 8: Malik Basahel def. Mountassir Boutouta via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:32)
Bout 7: Assem Ghanem def. Hussein Salem via Decision, Unanimous (Featherweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 6: Islam Reda def. Akram Nasri via TKO, Strikes (RD 3, 4:33) (Featherweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 5: Mohammad Fahmi def. Georges Eid via Submission, D’Arce Choke (RD 1, 3:12) (Lightweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 4: Ahmad Makki def. Hashan Elnamer via Submission, Heel Hook (RD 3, 2:03)
Bout 3: Souhil Tairi def. Abdullah Saleem via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 3:20) (Lightweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 2: Eman Almudhaf def. Shamara Braga via Decision, Split
Bout 1: Abdulaziz Bin Moammar def. Fares Hamdani via Decision, Unanimous (Amateur)
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