Four Inaugural PFL MENA Champions Crowned in Saudi Arabia

The Professional Fighters League on Friday descended on King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the PFL Middle East and North Africa finals serving as the appetizer for the PFL 2024 Season Championships. Four regional fighters were crowned as PFL MENA champions and could potentially find themselves a part of next season’s global showcase.

Ali Taleb quickly and brutally won the PFL MENA bantamweight title in one round after catching Rachid El Hazoume with an uppercut from the underworld. With the Moroccan staggered, Taleb put the finishing touches on his beatdown with a crispy right hook that put El Hozoume down for the count. The win marked Taleb’s second-straight first-round knockout.

Mohsen Mohammadseifi claimed the PFL MENA lightweight title after unanimously outpointing Lebananon’s Georges Eid: 50-45, 50-45, 49-46. Despite the lopsided scores, the fight was much closer. Eid’s length kept Mohammadseifi at range, and the fight was held at a mild pace. Mohammadseifi’s jab and a few flurries started to give him an edge through the middle rounds, but neither fighter did a clear job of separating himself. Eid had his moments, but Mohammadseifi was routinely the busier fighter, and the activity paid off.

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Omar El Dafrawy came into the PFL MENA welterweight title on a six-fight winning streak but would have to avenge his last loss as a pro to claim the $100,000 grand prize. Standing in his way was undefeated American Kickboxing Academy product Mohammad Alaqraa. Alaqraa outpointed El Dafrawy a year ago and looked primed to stop him in the first round, but the Egyptian weathered the storm. After a break in the action following a low blow, El Dafrawy made Alaquraa pay as he shot for a single leg. El Dafrawy froze his man with a sneaky left hook on the button before landing several unanswered punches that forced referee Gerd Ritcher to intervene.

The PFL MENA featherweight finale was short, sweet and violent. Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Al-Qahtani and Morocco’s Maraoune Bellagouit traded bombs throughout the first round of their championship fight, and it was clear that neither man had intentions of going the distance. Both fighters were clipped and bloodied, but it was Al-Qahtani who was left standing following a brutal right hand midway through the first round.

Amateur atomweight standout Hattan Alsaif showcased her skills in a second-round finish over Lilia Osmani. Alsaif was simply too much for Osmani, dominating her in the clinch and tuning her up with hard knees and elbows. Osmani held on to the second round, but she had nothing to offer the local Riyadh native and was saved by referee Basheer Reda. The end came 97 seconds into Round 2.

Costello van Steenis kicked off the PFL MENA championships with a bang. The Dutch Spaniard wasted little time crashing his shin straight into the unsuspecting jaw of Joao Vitor Ramos Dantas, knocking him out cold 46 seconds into the first round of their middleweight showcase bout. The win marked van Steenis’ second finish of 2024.

SBG Ireland prospect Asael Adjoudj nearly saw his eight-fight winning streak slip through his fingers, but he caught grasp of Jose Perez’s neck just in time. After a competitive first round between the two featherweights, Perez fully mounted Adjoudj and rained down blows to close out the second stanza. Down on the cards, Adjoudj took the judges out of play with a guillotine 1:10 into the final round.

A 2024 PFL featherweight semifinalist, Gabriel Braga bounced back with a solid victory over Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA alum Jeremy Kennedy. The two featherweights fought furiously and were tied a round apiece heading into the fight-deciding final five minutes. Braga’s wrestling ultimately stifled the Canadian and swayed the judges into a close but clear unanimous decision: 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28.

Two rising undefeated heavyweight prospects shared the SmartCage, as England’s Abraham Bably met Tunisia’s Slim Trabelsi. Bably was the sharper and faster fighter early, catching Trabelsi repeatedly with the left hook. However, the American Kickboxing Academy product was not deterred. Trabelsi charged forward and finished the fight in a dominant position once Bably’s gas tank evaporated. It was a tough fight to score, but ultimately, two judges favored Trabelsi’s strong finish over Bably’s flash: 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28.

Bellator veteran Mansour Barnaoui dug deep and pulled out a thrilling third-round finish via rear-naked choke on London’s Alfie Davis in his PFL debut. After starting the fight strong, “The Afro Samurai” faded in the second round. Davis was on his way to a fourth straight win before he was stunned by a hard right hand from the Frenchman. Barnaoui followed up his assault with vicious knees and elbows from the Thai clinch before finishing Davis on the ground 3:41 into Round 3. It was Barnaoui’s 15th career submission win.