Tag: PFL MENA

2024 PFL MENA 3: Playoffs Results & Highlights

The inaugural PFL MENA season continued on Friday, and MMA News has you covered with all the action! Having broken onto the scene with its regular season and playoff format in North America, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has begun its pursuit of further prominence around the globe. In 2023, that took sizable step forward with […]

Continue Reading 2024 PFL MENA 3: Playoffs Results & Highlights at MMA News.

The inaugural PFL MENA season continued on Friday, and MMA News has you covered with all the action!

Having broken onto the scene with its regular season and playoff format in North America, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has begun its pursuit of further prominence around the globe.

In 2023, that took sizable step forward with the maiden PFL Europe season. And this year, the promotion continues to grow with its latest regional expansion, PFL MENA (Middle East and North Africa).

Like the inaugural and sophomore cards in May and July of this year, the playoffs event took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The PFL MENA Studio in Boulevard City played host as a number of athletes booked their spots at the championship finals later this year.

The main event came at 145 pounds, where Saudi Arabia’s own Abdullah Al-Qahtani had hope to advance from his semifinal against Jordan’s Abdelrahman Alhyasat. After recording two wins at PFL global events in 2023 and opening his 2024 with another knockout triumph on the PFL vs. Bellator card, “The Reaper” was now nearing regional dominance.

However, hopes of that came to a crashing halt courtesy of Alhyasat’s efforts on fight night. He outpointed the home favorite on all three scorecards to take home the upset win.

While the event was broadcast on DAZN for select countries, it was unfortunately not available to audiences in the United States. However, MMA News has you covered below with the full results and all the highlights below.

2024 PFL MENA Playoffs Results & Highlights

  • Featherweight Semifinal: Abdelrahman Alhyasat def. Abdullah Al-Qahtani via unanimous decision
  • Welterweight Semifinal: Omar El Dafrawy def. Jarrah Al-Selawe via TKO: R1, 3:11
  • Welterweight Semifinal: Mohammad Alaqraa def. Amir Fazli via unanimous decision
  • Lightweight Semifinal: Mohsen Mohammadseifi def. Souhil Tairi via unanimous decision
  • Bantamweight Semifinal: Ali Taleb def. Jalal Al Daaja via KO (punch): R1, 2:18
  • Featherweight Semifinal: Islam Reda def. Marouane Bellagouit via unanimous decision
  • Bantamweight Semifinal: Rachid El Hazoume def. Elias Boudegzdame via unanimous decision
  • Lightweight Semifinal: Georges Eid def. Omar Reguigui via TKO (punches): R1, 1:39
  • Amateur Flyweight Showcase: Malik Basahel def. Saher Qasmieh via unanimous decision
  • Featherweight Showcase: Adam Meskini def. Yazeed Hasanain via split decision

Adam Meskini Def. Yazeed Hasanain

Malik Basahel Def. Saher Qasmieh

Georges Eid Def. Omar Reguigui

Rachid El Hazoume Def. Elias Boudegzdame

Islam Reda Def. Marouane Bellagouit

Ali Taleb Def. Jalal Al Daaja

Mohsen Mohammadseifi Def. Souhil Tairi

Mohammad Alaqraa Def. Amir Fazli

Omar El Dafrawy Def. Jarrah Al-Selawe

Abdelrahman Alhyasat Def. Abdullah Al-Qahtani

Continue Reading 2024 PFL MENA 3: Playoffs Results & Highlights at MMA News.

Exclusive | Omar El Dafrawy On Driving MMA’s Growth in Egypt: “More and more Egyptians making waves.”

Omar El DafrawyPFL MENA athlete Omar El Dafrawy has been making an impact in the nation of Egypt in growing the…

Omar El Dafrawy

PFL MENA athlete Omar El Dafrawy has been making an impact in the nation of Egypt in growing the sport of MMA at the core level. On Friday, September 19, he will be competing in the Semi-finals of the PFL MENA welterweight tournament.

Omar El Dafrawy on Egyptian MMA

Whether it’s Judo, Boxing, Wrestling, Taekwondo, or Karate, the nation of Egypt has a rich history in combat sports and has collected dozens of Olympic medals. MMA is a natural step for the people of the nation but it still needs a push. Omar El Dafrawy and his gym Fitbox are looking to make an impact.

In an exclusive interview with Tim Wheaton of LowKickMMA, El Dafrawy explained:

“A lot of people are transitioning, but we need more high-profile coaches to guide them through that. We have strong bases in boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling, and judo, with Olympians and gold medalists. When the right people who genuinely care about the sport get involved, things will continue to change. I’ve seen it happening, especially as I’ve traveled and invested in myself as an athlete … We’re seeing more and more Egyptians making waves.”

Combat sports is booming in Egypt, and MMA is right at the forefront, he added:

“There are a lot of high benchmarks being set. I think I’ve restructured the sport back home. My background is academic, and people saw that the sport is for everyone, not just those with tough upbringings. They saw that you can be educated—I have a bachelor’s degree—and still be a full-time fighter. There’s a huge gap in the market for education on training and preparation, but that’s what I’m trying to deliver through Fitbox. As for numbers, MMA is booming. There are at least 20 promotions back home, with more popping up. For example, the national kickboxing tournament has 800 fights over two days, just with kids.”

PFL MENA 3

Upcoming at PFL MENA 3, on September 20, El Dafrawy is looking to build on his impressive win streak and advance to the PFL MENA finals later this year. But standing in his way is the experienced Jarrah Hussein Al-Silawi. On this matchup, the Egyptian MMA athlete explained:

“I’ve studied my opponent, and I feel confident that I can knock out Jarrah.”

Jake Paul

YouTuber and boxer Jake Paul will soon be competing in MMA in the PFL but still has yet to have an opponent picked. Omar El Dafrawy is throwing his name in the mix whether it be under boxing or MMA rules. Omar El Dafrawy said:

“I want to punch him in the boxing ring first! But seriously, I like what he’s been doing. He’s calling out the people who don’t treat fighters well, like Dana White. That’s why I chose PFL. It’s about building myself and having financial security. PFL gives fighters the freedom to box if they want and respects the fighters. That’s what the sport needs—promotions that understand fighters.”

See the full interview with Omar El Dafrawy below:

2024 PFL MENA 2 Results & Highlights (11 AM ET)

The inaugural PFL MENA season continues on Friday, and MMA News has you covered with all the action! Having broken onto the scene with its unique regular season and playoff format in North America, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has begun its pursuit of further prominence around the globe. In 2023, that took sizable step forward […]

Continue Reading 2024 PFL MENA 2 Results & Highlights (11 AM ET) at MMA News.

The inaugural PFL MENA season continues on Friday, and MMA News has you covered with all the action!

Having broken onto the scene with its unique regular season and playoff format in North America, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has begun its pursuit of further prominence around the globe.

In 2023, that took sizable step forward with the maiden PFL Europe season. And this year, the promotion continues to grow with its latest regional expansion, PFL MENA (Middle East and North Africa).

Like the inaugural card on May 10, today’s event goes from from The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the main event, the host nation’s own Mostafa Rashed Neda will take to the cage looking to build on his showcase performance on the PFL 9: 2023 Playoffs card last August.

To extend his winning run to four, the MMA Jeddah Club standout is tasked with getting the better of former OKTAGON athlete Abdel Rahmane Driai. Algeria’s “Silverback” has won two straight since falling short against current UFC fighter Robert Bryczek.

Elsewhere on the lineup, PFL veteran Jarrah Al-Silawi will return to the SmartCage after snapping his losing skid with a victory under the Brave CF banner last December, while highly touted women’s amateur Hattan Alsaif will look to build on her memorable head kick KO from PFL MENA 1 this past May when she competes in front of her home fans again.

While today’s event is being broadcast on DAZN for select countries, it is unfortunately not available to audiences in the United States. However, MMA News has you covered below with the live results and highlights below, commencing at 11 AM ET.

2024 PFL MENA 2 Results & Highlights

  • Middleweight Showcase Main Event: Mostafa Rashed Nada vs. Abdel Rahmane Driai
  • Welterweight Co-Main Event: Mohammad Alaqraa vs. Youcef Ouabbas
  • Welterweight: Jarrah Al-Silawi vs. Rayan Atmani
  • Welterweight: Badreddine Diani vs. Amir Fazli 
  • Lightweight: Josh Togo vs. Mohsen Mohammadseifi
  • Lightweight: Ahmed Amir vs. Souhil Tairi 
  • Welterweight: Omar El Dafrawy vs. Anthony Zeidan 
  • Amateur Women’s Atomweight: Hattan Alsaif vs. Eman Baraka 
  • Lightweight: Abdullah Saleem vs. Omar Reguigui
  • Lightweight: Abbas Khan vs. Georges Eid 
  • Flyweight Showcase: Hadi Omar Al Hussaini vs. Ziad Ayman Kareem

Continue Reading 2024 PFL MENA 2 Results & Highlights (11 AM ET) at MMA News.

2024 PFL MENA 2 Results & Highlights

The inaugural PFL MENA season continued on Friday, and MMA News has you covered with all the action! Having broken onto the scene with its unique regular season and playoff format in North America, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has begun its pursuit of further prominence around the globe. In 2023, that took sizable step forward […]

Continue Reading 2024 PFL MENA 2 Results & Highlights at MMA News.

The inaugural PFL MENA season continued on Friday, and MMA News has you covered with all the action!

Having broken onto the scene with its unique regular season and playoff format in North America, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) has begun its pursuit of further prominence around the globe.

In 2023, that took sizable step forward with the maiden PFL Europe season. And this year, the promotion continues to grow with its latest regional expansion, PFL MENA (Middle East and North Africa).

Like the inaugural card on May 10, the sophomore event went down from from The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the main event, the host nation’s own Mostafa Rashed Neda built on his showcase performance on the PFL 9: 2023 Playoffs card last August.

To extend his winning run to four, the MMA Jeddah Club standout got the better of former OKTAGON athlete Abdel Rahmane Driai. Algeria’s “Silverback” had won two straight since falling short against current UFC fighter Robert Bryczek, but his run was brought to an end by way of knockout in the very first round.

Elsewhere, PFL veteran Jarrah Al-Silawi returned to the SmartCage successfully after snapping his losing skid with a victory under the Brave CF banner last December, while highly touted women’s amateur Hattan Alsaif followed her memorable head kick KO from PFL MENA 1 this past May with another impressive showing front of her home fans.

While the event was broadcast on DAZN for select countries, it was unfortunately not available to audiences in the United States. However, MMA News has you covered below with the full results and all the highlights.

2024 PFL MENA 2 Results & Highlights

  • Middleweight Showcase Main Event: Mostafa Rashed Nada def. Abdel Rahmane Driai via KO (right hand): R1
  • Welterweight Co-Main Event: Mohammad Alaqraa def. Youcef Ouabbas via TKO (punches); R2
  • Welterweight: Jarrah Al-Silawi def. Rayan Atmani via submission (rear-naked choke): R1
  • Welterweight: Badreddine Diani def. Amir Fazli via unanimous decision
  • Lightweight: Mohsen Mohammadseifi def. Josh Togo via TKO (punches): R1
  • Lightweight: Souhil Tairi  def. Ahmed Amir via unanimous decision
  • Welterweight: Omar El Dafrawy def. Anthony Zeidan via unanimous decision
  • Amateur Women’s Atomweight: Hattan Alsaif def. Eman Baraka via TKO (corner stoppage): R2, 5:00
  • Lightweight: Abdullah Saleem def. Omar Reguigui via submission (triangle choke)
  • Lightweight: Georges Eid def. Abbas Khan via unanimous decision
  • Flyweight Showcase: Ziad Ayman Mokhtar def. Hadi Omar Al Hussaini via submission (rear-naked choke): R3

Ziad Ayman Mokhtar Def. Hadi Omar Al Hussaini

Georges Eid Def. Abbas Khan

Abdullah Saleem Def. Omar Reguigui

Hattan Alsaif Def. Eman Baraka

Omar El Dafrawy Def. Anthony Zeidan

Souhil Tairi  Def. Ahmed Amir

Mohsen Mohammadseifi Def. Josh Togo

Badreddine Diani Def. Amir Fazli

Jarrah Al-Silawi Def. Rayan Atmani

Mohammad Alaqraa Def. Youcef Ouabbas

Mostafa Rashed Nada def. Abdel Rahmane Driai

Continue Reading 2024 PFL MENA 2 Results & Highlights at MMA News.