The Professional Fighters League is opening up to a
region of the world that could use some developing.

The organization announced the commencement of the Middle East,
North Africa (MENA) tournament on Thursday, declaring that the

first fight card of its season will kick off on May 10. The
show will be held at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and
combatants from the bantamweight and featherweight divisions will
look to advance to the playoffs with a victory. Broadcast plans for
North American audiences have not yet been determined.

Headlining the offering will be a featherweight contest putting
local Saudi competitor Abdullah
Al-Qahtani (8-1) against Morocco-born, Canada-trained Taha
Bendaoud (3-0). Al-Qahtani introduced himself to the promotion
as a showcase non-tournament participant in 2023, where he face
cranked Lamar Brown
in 95 seconds at PFL 6. The Saudi fighter returned two months later
to pick up a decision over David
Zelner, which earned him a place on the PFL vs. Bellator MMA Champs event in 2024 against Edukondal
Rao. “The Reaper” claimed his third victim in the PFL ranks by
dispatching Rao with a head kick early into the third frame.

While Al-Qahtani has won three straight under the PFL banner, the
29-year-old Bendaoud has won three fights as a pro overall. The
Thai Long Muay Thai competitor made his debut in Idaho against
Tryston
Hutchinson in late 2022, and he performed a triangle choke to
end the night victoriously. Two decision wins over Sthembiso
Hadebe and Younes
Chemali in UAE Warriors last year catapulted him into this
headlining affair.

PFL MENA 1 Lineup:

Abdullah
Al-Qahtani vs. Taha
Bendaoud – featherweight
Ali
Taleb vs. Nawras
Abzakh – bantamweight
Xavier
Alaoui vs. Rachid El
Hazoume – bantamweight
Islam
Reda vs. Adam
Meskini – featherweight
Tariq
Ismail vs. Jalal Al
Daja – bantamweight
Elias
Boudegzdame vs. Hassan
Mandour – bantamweight
Hattan
Alsaif vs. Nada Faheem
– amateur atomweight
Maraoune
Bellagouit vs. Motaz Askar
– featherweight
Ahmed
Tarek vs. Abdalrahman
Alhyasat – featherweight
Ahmed
Raouf vs. Yazeed
Hasanain – featherweight
Malik
Basahel vs. Harsh
Pandya – flyweight

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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