Semifinals matchups for the
Professional Fighters League ’s first season in the Middle East and North Africa are now in place.
Welterweights
Mohammad Alaqraa ,
Jarrah Al-Silawi ,
Badreddine Diani and
Omar El Dafrawy punched their respective tickets, along with lightweights
Mohsen Mohammadseifi ,
Souhil Tahiri ,
Abdullah Saleem and
Georges Eid at
PFL MENA 2 on Friday at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A $100,000 grand prize goes to the winner of each weight class, along with consideration to be included on the PFL’s global roster in 2025.
Alaqraa (6-0, 1-0 PFL) made his intentions known, as he disposed of
Youcef Ouabbas with punches in the third round of their welterweight quarterfinal. Ouabbas (3-1, 0-1 PFL) met his end 53 seconds into Round 3. The American Kickboxing Academy’s Alaqraa moves on to the 170-pound semifinals against Diani (8-3, 1-0 PFL)—a 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 winner over
Amir Fazli (6-2, 0-1 PFL) in their three-round welterweight quarterfinal.
Meanwhile, Al-Silawi (20-6, 3-3 PFL) took another step toward a six-figure payday when he submitted
Rayan Atmani with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their welterweight quarterfinal. Atmani (4-3, 0-1 PFL) capitulated 4:20 into Round 1. Al Silawi advances to the 170-pound semifinals against El Dafrawy (11-6, 1-0 PFL)—a 30-25, 30-26, 30-27 unanimous decision victor over
Anthony Zeidan (4-2, 0-1 PFL) in their three-round welterweight quarterfinal.
Elsewhere, Mohammedseifi (5-1, 1-0 PFL) brought down
Josh Togo with punches in the first round of their lightweight quarterfinal. Togo (13-6, 0-1 PFL) succumbed to blows 3:33 into Round 1. A five-time gold medalist at the World Wushu Championships, Mohammedseifi advances to the 155-pound semifinals against Tahiri (7-4, 1-0 PFL)—a 29-27, 29-27, 29-27 unanimous decision winner over
Ahmed Amir (12-5-1, 0-2 PFL) in their three-round quarterfinal.
Further down the card, Saleem (6-0, 1-0 PFL) disposed of
Omar Reguigui with a triangle choke in the first round of their lightweight quarterfinal. Reguigui (4-2, 0-1 PFL) bowed out 90 seconds into Round 1. Saleem moves on to the 155-pound semifinals against Eid (9-4, 1-0 PFL)—a 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 unanimous decision victor over
Abbas Khan (6-3, 0-1 PFL) in their three-round quarterfinal.
In other action,
Mostafa Rashed Nada (9-3, 2-0 PFL) punched out
Abdel Rahmane Driai (9-3, 0-1 PFL) just 2:34 into their middleweight headliner;
Ziad Ayman (6-1, 1-0 PFL) put away
Hadi Omar Al Hussaini (5-1-1, 0-1 PFL) with a rear-naked choke 4:25 into the third round of their flyweight pairing; and
Hattan Alsaif forced
Eman Baraka to retire in between the second and third rounds of their amateur atomweight affair.
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