Introducing the showcase fight taking place on May 10th of this year! 🔥
Showcase Featherweight: 🇪🇬 Mid Mohamed vs Yazeed Hassanain 🇯🇴
Showcase Flyweight: 🇸🇦 Malik Basahel vs Harsh Pandya 🇮🇳
Women’s Atomweight: 🇸🇦 Hattan Al-Saif vs Nada Faheem 🇪🇬 pic.twitter.com/UD1uv6oU2L
— PFL Mena (@PFLMENA)
April 25, 2024
The Professional Fighters League is opening up to parts of the world with access to parts of the developing world.
The organization announced the start of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) tournament on Thursday, declaring the first fixtures of the season to kick off on May 10. The show will be held at the Green Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bantamweight and featherweight fighters will then look to earn a victory and advance to the playoffs. Broadcast plans for North American audiences have not yet been determined.
The highlight of the bout will be a featherweight bout between native Saudi Arabian Abdullah Al Qahtani (8-1) and Moroccan-born Canadian-trained Taha Bendaoud (3-0). Al Qahtani joined the promotion as a non-tournament showcase participant in 2023, introducing him to face Lamar Brown, who cranked it out in 95 seconds at PFL6. The Saudi fighter returned two months later and won a decision from David Zellner. A spot in the 2024 PFL vs. Bellator MMA Champions event against Edkondar Rao. “The Reaper” landed a head kick to Rao early in the third frame, inflicting his third casualty in the PFL ranks.
Bendaoud, 29, has won three matches overall as a professional while Al Qahtani has won three in a row under the PFL banner. The Thai Long Muay Thai competitor made his debut in late 2022 in Idaho against Triston Hutchinson, winning with a triangle choke. His two decision wins over Thembiso Hadebe and Younes Chemali for UAE Warriors last year catapulted him into this high-profile fight.
PFL MENA 1 lineup:
Abdullah Al Qaftani vs. Taha Bendaoud – Featherweight
Ali Taleb vs. Nowras Abuzaf – Bantamweight
Xavier Alaoui vs. Rashid El Hazomeh – Bantamweight
Islam Reda vs. Adam Meschini – Featherweight
Tariq Ismail vs. Jalal Al Daja – Bantamweight
Elias Boudegzudam vs. Hassan Mandour – Bantamweight
Hattan Al-Saif vs. Nada Faheem – Amateur Atomweight
Maroun Belaguit vs. Motaz Askal – Featherweight
Ahmed Tarek vs. Abdalrahman Alhyasat – Featherweight
Ahmed Rauf vs. Yazeed Hasanain – Featherweight
Malik Basahel vs. Harsh Pandya – Flyweight
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