Jarrah Al-Silawi Prepared to Level Up at 2024 PFL MENA 2 Regular Season

Jarrah Al-Silawi ’s chance to regain his Professional Fighters League roster spot could rely on him winning the eight-man PFL MENA Welterweight Season. Despite his setbacks during the previous two years, Al-Silawi says he’s become a brand-new fighter.

“I feel that I’m one of the most experienced fighters in the field,” Al-Silawi told Sherdog.com. “This camp, however, gave me the chance to improve and work on new things to become Jarrah 2.0. With that comes the responsibility to perform and do well in this tournament.

“I’m very excited to fight in an Arab country again,” he added. “I think it gives me a chance to prove that I’m one of -- if not the best -- Middle Eastern fighters, and who knows, maybe this will lead to me fighting on the big show again.”

Al-Silawi (19-6) will face Algeria’s Rayan Atmani (4-2) at 2024 PFL MENA 2 Regular Season on Friday at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Armani has never been outside the first round and could look to test Al-Silawi’s chin early. If the “Jordanian Lion” wants to move forward, he must be ready to hunt.

Although Al-Silawi is excited to fight in Saudi Arabia and take part in a Middle Eastern fighting showcase, at this point in his career, his main concern is returning to the PFL global roster. Al-Silawi fought his way up through the challenger series and claimed his roster spot with a first-round knockout over Michael Lilly . After beating Gleison Tibau in his regular-season debut, he thought the sky was the limit but quickly came crashing back into Earth after suffering three-straight knockout losses.

Al-Silawi fell short to heavy hitters Magomed Umalatov , Sadibou Sy and Solomon Renfro , discovering that he’d have to level up his game if he were to ever return to the big stage. He says he’s watched those fights regularly throughout camp and won’t make the same mistakes again.

“I now know those losses were due to mistakes that I feel have been fixed,” he said. “I’ve worked a lot on my wrestling, footwork, boxing and overall approach to the sport. My confidence is just where it needs to be.”

The process wasn’t easy for the 32-year-old. After a decade of cage time, it wasn’t easy to rebound after three straight knockout losses. Beating Nenad Avramoic last December was the confidence boost he needed to return to form. Now, with the path back to the PFL global tournament in front of him, all Al-Silawi has to do is perform like the fighter he believes he can be.

“When I lost those fights, I had to remind myself not to forget who I was,” he said. “That can be easy to overlook in situations like that. I’ve beaten some significant names and people who’ve done incredible things in other promotions, which has helped my confidence. I’m just here to show what I can do, and hopefully, that’ll be enough to return to the PFL U.S. tournament.”