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.