- George Chung
- May 11, 2024
- 3 min read
Abdullah Al-Qahtani heads to Featherweight Semifinals after stopping Yazeed Hasanain
Ali Taleb dominates Nawras Abzakh to advance to Bantamweight Semifinals
Hattan Alsaif delivers spectacular knockout in PFL debut
PFL MENA Featherweight and Bantamweight Semifinals Set for July 5
The Professional Fighters League (PFL), kicked off the historic inaugural season of PFL MENA at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday, with athletes in the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions taking center stage and securing their spots in the PFL MENA Playoffs. Here are the PFL MENA Results.
In the main event, Abdullah Al-Qahtani put on a show for his hometown fans as he battered Yazeed Hasanain of Jordan en route to a verbal submission win, earning himself a spot in the PFL MENA Featherweight Semifinals.
In the co-main event, Iraq’s Ali Taleb was a force from start to finish as he dominated Jordanian Nawras Abzakh to earn a unanimous decision win and a spot in the Bantamweight Semifinals. Taleb improves to 11-1 in his career.
Morocco’s Rachid El Hazoume showed off his submission skills and forced countryman Xavier Alaoui to tap out to a rear-naked choke submission in the second round. As a result, El Hazoume advances to the Bantamweight Semi Finals and moves to 14-3 in his career.
Islam Reda of Egypt turned in a strong performance as he defeated Morocco’s Adam Meskini by unanimous decision to advance to the PFL MENA Featherweight Semi Finals. The win marked Reda’s fifth straight, and it improved his career record to 11-1.
Jordan’s Jalal Al Daaja punched his ticket to the PFL MENA Playoffs after edging out Sudan’s Tariq Ismail by majority draw in their Bantamweight matchup. The victory pushed Al Daaja’s career record to 12-7.
Algeria’s Elias Boudegzdame was the first fighter in the Bantamweight division to advance to the PFL MENA Playoffs after scoring a slick second round guillotine submission win over Egypt’s Hassan Mandour. With the win, Boudegzdame improved to 19-8 in his MMA career.
Saudi Arabia’s own Hattan Alsaif turned in a spectacular MMA debut, knocking Egypt’s Nada Faheem out with a head kick in the second round of their Women’s Flyweight amateur showcase bout. Alsaif made history by becoming the first female from Saudi Arabia to sign a contract with a major MMA promotion.
Featherweight division action saw Morocco’s Maraoune Bellagouit land a powerful left hook in the third round to knock out Egypt’s Mido Mohamed in the third round and move on to the Semi Finals. Bellagouit remains undefeated and moves to 5-0 in his career.
In the first Featherweight bout of the PFL MENA season, Jordan’s Abdelrahman Alhyasat outworked Ahmed Tarek of Egypt to win by unanimous decision and advance to the Semi Finals. Alhyasat improved to 4-0 in his professional career.
Kicking the action off, Saudi Arabia’s own Malik Basahel put on a dominant performance, defeating India’s Harsh Pandya by unanimous decision in a Flyweight amateur showcase bout to improve to 19-2-1 in his career.
COMPLETE PFL MENA: RIYADH RESULTS
Featherweight Bout
Abdullah Al-Qahtani def. Yazeed Hasanain by Verbal Submission at 4:59 of Round 2
Bantamweight Bout
Ali Taleb def. Nawras Abzakh by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Bantamweight Bout
Rachid El Hazoume def. Xavier Alaoui by Submission (RnC) at 2:55 of Round 2
Featherweight Bout
Islam Reda def. Adam Meskini by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Bantamweight Bout
Jalal Al Daaja def. Tariq Ismail by Majority Draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
Bantamweight Bout
Elias Boudegzdame def. Hassan Mandour by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 0:53 of Round 2
Women’s Atomweight Bout - Amateur
Hattan Alsaif def. Nada Faheem by KO (Head Kick) at 0:41 of Round 2
Featherweight Bout
Maraoune Bellagouit def. Mido Mohamed by TKO (Punch) at 4:12 of Round 3
Featherweight Bout
Abdelrahman Alhyasat def. Ahmed Tarek by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-27)
Flyweight Bout - Amateur
Malik Basahel def. Harsh Pandya by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
