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Bantamweights, featherweights, lightweights and welterweights were
on display on Friday, along with a few showcase matchups with one
featuring a rising amateur prospect. The Professional Fighters League completed its
four-division playoffs of its Middle East, North Africa (MENA)
series, setting the four finals bouts that had their fair share of
intrigue. Both victors in the main and co-headlining spots crashed
the party at
PFL MENA 3 with upset wins.

The main attraction of the 10-fight show came at 145 pounds, as the
favored Abdullah
Al-Qahtani (9-2, 4-1 PFL) suffered his first defeat under the
PFL banner in arguably the biggest fight of his career. “The
Reaper” had the crowd on his side, and the undefeated Abdalrahman
Alhyasat (5-0, 2-0 PFL) silenced them all. Alhyasat was able to
batter Al-Qahtani on the ground and use his grappling to keep
control of the fight, despite consistent calls from the referee for
more action. The Jordanian named “Cobra” lashed out at opportune
moments, drawing blood from Al-Qahtani while staying one step ahead
for much of the fight. When the final bell sounded, Alhyasat earned
one 30-27 score along with dueling 29-28s to secure his place in
the featherweight finals.



Leading up to the co-main event, the expectations around the
betting community and pundits were such that Jarrah
Al-Silawi (20-7, 4-4 PFL) would blaze through his opponent and
plant his flag in the $100,000 championship battle. That did not
come to fruition, as upset-minded Omar El
Dafrawy (12-6, 2-0 PFL) let his hands go early and often. Even
if some overlooked him, a confident El Dafrawy promised a
second-round knockout on fight week. His prediction was off by a
few minutes, as he dispatched Al-Silawi with a fierce flurry of
fists that briefly rendered “The Jordanian Lion” unconscious before
knocking him back awake. While the defeated Al-Silawi briefly
lodged a protest to referee Lorenzo Spoto, the damage was done and
the fight had been waved off at 3:09 of the opening frame.

Dominance was the name of the game across the welterweight
semifinals, with the aforementioned Dafrawy scoring the violent
knockout and Mohammad
Alaqraa (7-0, 2-0 PFL) handling Amir Fazli
(6-3, 0-2 PFL) over three increasingly one-sided rounds. Kuwait’s
Alaqraa outwrestled short-notice opponent Fazli, nullifying most of
the offense Fazli could offer. The undefeated 24-year-old fighting
out of American Kickboxing Academy took a clean sweep on the
scorecards, claiming two 30-27 tallies and a 30-26 for good
measure. The victorious 170-pounders will collide in a rematch of
their 2023 bout under the UAE Warriors Banner, where the latter
prevailed.

Engaging in a back-and-forth 15-minute encounter to seal one half
of the lightweight bracket, Mohsen
Mohammadseifi (6-1, 2-0 PFL) and Souhil
Tahiri (7-5-1, 1-1 PFL) battled it out with a shot at $100,000
on the line. Iran’s Mohammadseifi came out strong in Round 1, only
for Tahiri to storm back and nearly procure the finish in the
second stanza. Likely saved by the bell, Mohammadseifi survived to
the third round. With both fighters laboring in the final round, it
was Mohammadseifi who had more in the tank to land cleaner and
succeed in grounding his foe a couple times to get his hand raised.
While one judge saw it three rounds to zero, the other two came in
with matching 29-28 scores all in favor of Mohammadseifi to punch
his ticket to the finals.



Ali
Taleb (11-1, 4-1 PFL) staged one of the most significant
performances of the night, aggressively claiming his place in the
championship at 135 pounds. Over 10 years younger and a few pounds
smaller than his adversary, the fighter out of Sweden ran roughshod
over Jalal Al
Daja (11-9, 0-2 PFL). Right out of the gate, Taleb swarmed Al
Daja and did not let up. The 26-year-old closed the show at 2:18
courtesy of a brutal left hook, followed by a punctuating right
hand to shut Al Daja’s lights out.

Extending his win streak to six, Islam Reda
(11-1, 2-0 PFL) outhustled Maraoune
Bellagouit (6-1, 1-1 PFL) while ejecting him out of the ranks
of the unbeaten. A smothering performance from the grappling-minded
Reda proved to be a tough matchup for the Moroccan kickboxer.
Throughout the course of their three-round featherweight affair,
Reda repeatedly placed Bellagouit in uncomfortable positions
against the cage and mat, practically controlling the fight from
bell to bell. Two judges awarded “The Egyptian Zombie” a 10-8 round
along the way, who settled for scores of 30-26, 30-27 and 29-27.
With the 145-pound MENA championship along with a $100,000 check up
for grabs, Reda will throw down with Alhyasat in the finals.

To lock down the other half of the bantamweight tournament
equation, Rachid El
Hazoume (11-3, 2-1 PFL) collided with Elias
Boudegzdame (19-9, 1-1 PFL). A high-paced fight ensued, where
both fighters had their moments in a back-and-forth affair,
resulted in Hazoume ultimately gaining the upper hand when the dust
settled. In part due to him bloodying up the Frenchman who calls
himself “Smile,” Hazoume snagged matching 29-28 scores from the
judges. “Haz” will take on power-punching Taleb for the MENA crown
in the bantamweight division at year’s end.



The first tournament match of the card also featured one of the few
finishes on the billing, as “Bulldozer” Georges Eid
(10-4, 1 NC; 2-0 PFL) did just that against Omar
Reguigui (4-1, 1 NC; 0-1, 1 NC PFL). Handing the Tunisian the
first loss of his professional career, Eid thwarted a prolonged
takedown effort and severely punished Reguigui for trying. A
lengthy stretch of ground-and-pound prompted referee Lorenzo Spoto
to step in at 1:37 of the first frame, making Eid the first
finalist of the evening. Eid will come to blows with Mohammadseifi
at the end of the year for a crack at lightweight MENA gold.

In non-tournament action, the promotion staged an amateur flyweight
encounter for Malik
Basahel, who took a clear-cut decision over Saher
Qasmieh; the night opened with French 145er Adam
Meskini (9-3, 1-1 PFL) sneaking past Yazeed
Hasanain (3-2, 0-2 PFL) via split decision in a showcase
matchup.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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