Reigning
Professional Fighters League MENA lightweight champion Mohsen
Mohammadseifi passed his first test on the road to defending
his title Friday, but it was far from easy.

After three hellacious rounds, the “Golden Boy” had his hands
raised over Egypt’s Ahmed El
Sisy in the
2025 PFL MENA 1 main event from the Onyx Arena in Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia.

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Mohammadseifi (8-2) entered the tournament riding the high of a
seven-fight win streak and hoped to put fear into the rest of the
field with a knockout. He sat down on every punch and cut El Sisy
over his eye with a whopper of a right hand, but El Sisy didn’t
budge. El Sisy was buckled and dropped throughout the fight, but
was never out of the match, and the slugfest was glorious. It was a
clear win for Mohammadseifi, but El Sisy showed grit and raised his
stock. With the win, Mohammadseifi moved on to the lightweight
semifinals, where he’ll face Mohammad
Fahmi.

It might’ve taken three rounds, but that still couldn’t stop
Salah
Eddine Hamli from finding a highlight-reel finish over Abbas Khan
in lightweight action. The undefeated Hamil (9-0) had Khan in
trouble several times with his rear-naked choke, but the seasoned
Pakistani puncher showed resilience under pressure and fought off
Hamil’s attempts. Despite Khan’s defense, Hamli didn’t grow
frustrated and just kept at Khan’s next round after round

before finally sinking in an RNC in the fight’s closing
minutes.



In a battle of unbeaten featherweights, Taha
Bendaoud proved to be an apex predator. Bendaoud systematically
broke down Drissi
Boualem before
submitting him in the first round with a triangle
choke. Bendaoud (5-0) will face Assem
Ghanem (7-0) in the semifinals.

After 24 amateur fights, there was no question whether Saudi
Arabia’s Malik
Basahel was prepared for his professional debut. The flyweight
prospect notched his first win and pro stoppage with a second-round
TKO win over Mountassir
Boutouta (1-1). Basahel greatly used his elbows and distance
management before following Boutouta to the mat and finishing him
with ground-and-pound.

Undefeated Egyptian prospect Assem
Ghanem dominated Baghdad’s Hussein
Salem for the entirety of their featherweight tournament bout.
Ghanem smashed Salem along the cage in Round 1 while Salem was
repeatedly warned for putting his toes in the fence. Salem
eventually was deducted a point, and it only got worse from there.
Ghanem (7-0) was better than Salem (13-6) in every facet and
pressed to the end for the finish, but Salem’s toughness allowed
him to survive. Still, the unanimous decision win for Ghanem was
one of the most impressive performances on the card.

Islam
Reda was the first featherweight to advance in the tournament
after notching a third-round TKO stoppage over Algeria’s Akram
Nasri. Reda (14-1) entered the tournament on a six-fight win
streak and is one of the most experienced fighters in the field. He
showcased his skills and stellar gas tank as he pressured Nasri on
the ground and reversed multiple submission attempts. Nasri was
gassed by the final stanza and looked to hold on till the final
bell, but Reda sensed his hesitation and finished the fight with
ground-and-pound from full mount.

Mohammad
Fahmi announced his arrival to the lightweight field with a
dominant first-round stoppage over seasoned vet Georges Eid.
Eid was last season’s lightweight runner-up and had Fahmi in
trouble with his combinations. Iranian undefeated prospect Fahmi
(5-0) wasn’t discouraged, however, and attacked Eid’s single leg
with persistence. After securing the takedown, Fahmi fended off a
triangle attempt from Eid before sitting into his fight-ending
Brabo choke. Eid was entirely out of position to fight off the
submission, and it was only a matter of time before he was forced
to tap.

Ahmad
Makki closed out his career in ideal fashion with a third-round
submission of Hasham
Elnamer in lightweight action. Elnamer jumped out in the first
round by pumping his jab, but the Saudi closed the gap in the
second period with a trip and some dominant work in side control.
With the fight up for grabs, Makki closed the show in the third
round after he denied a takedown and pulled Elnamer into half
guard. As Elnamer looked to escape, Makki quickly snatched a heel
hook to force the tap and give Elnamer his first loss (3-1).

Souhil
Tairi came into the PFL MENA lightweight tournament off the
heels of a two-fight skid but violently punched his ticket to the
next round with a second-round TKO over Abdullah
Saleem. Tairi (8-6) had to up his pressure after a slow first
round, and a point deduction put him behind on the scorecards. In
Round 2, he walked down the formerly undefeated Saleem (5-1) and
battered him with knees and overhand rights before referee Sam
Amidi stepped in to stop the fight.

In women’s featherweight action, Eman
Almudhaf (5-0), an undefeated prospect from Kuwait, narrowly
defeated Brazil’s Shamara
Braga (5-4) by split decision. Almudhaf rallied to pull out the
scrappy win after she was nearly stopped by a cluster of Braga’s
knees in the opening frame. Almudhaf showed slick in-and-out boxing
and tagged Braga repeatedly with her jab and cross. Braga continued
to maul Almudhaf in the clinch, but Almudhaf powered through the
pain to score a critical takedown in the third round that gave her
an edge on the scorecards.

In the opening bout, Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz
Bin Moammar faced Algerian combatant Fares
Hamdani in a 166-pound amateur catchweight bout. Moammar
started the fight strong by attacking Hamdani’s lead leg with low
kicks before pressing him against the fence. Hamadani struggled to
press Moammar back but succeeded in the second round on the ground.
Hamdani nearly finished Moammar with a triangle attempt, but the
squeeze wasn’t tight enough. With the fight tied after two rounds,
Moammar separated himself with a slam in the final minute and won a
close, but unanimous decision. Scores were not revealed.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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