Ayeni Olusegun
Riyadh
Omar El Dafrawy exacted revenge on rival Mohammad Al Aqraa to claim the inaugural Professional Fighters League Middle East and North Africa (PFL MENA) Welterweight title during the PFL World Championship in Riyadh. Four champions were crowned in the Welterweight, Lightweight, Featherweight, and Bantamweight divisions.
The Egyptian fighter stunned the crowd with a crushing left hook that sent Al Aqraa reeling. El Dafrawy wasted no time, unleashing a flurry of hammer fists that left his opponent defenceless, leaving the referee no choice but to step in and halt the bout.
Al Aqraa had been unbeaten on a 7-0 run before this title fight and was the last man to defeat El Dafrawy. The build-up to the fight had seen both competitors trade strong words and promises of revenge.
“Many people did not believe me when I said he (Al Aqraa) did not face guys that are very well-rounded like me,” El Dafrawy said. He admitted his previous loss to Al Aqraa was not an indicator of his capabilities, adding that being in a better mental space now makes him a formidable opponent.
“I knew I wasn’t going to give anyone a chance to disturb my performance, especially after the illegal strike. I took my time and composure. All I thought of was to recover my breath and go back and ‘finish that guy.’”
He added, “This guy (Al Aqraa) has zero sportsmanship. This is why he will never be somewhere big until he humbles himself. Maybe what I did today to him would humble him.” Saudi Arabia star Abdullah Al Qahtani made the most of his comeback with a devastating finish to Morocco’s Marouane Bellagouit in the opening round to earn the PFL MENA Featherweight Championship. Al Qahtani stepped up to replace the injured Islam Reda in the title bout against Jordan’s Abdelrahman Alhyasat. Just before the fight, Alhyasat was replaced by Bellahouit after the Jordanian failed to make weight.
The 26-year-old was undeterred putting on a show for the raucous home crowd.
“When they called that Alhyasat couldn’t make it, I was sad and angry because I wanted that fight to get my revenge,” Al Qahtani said.
“The night was perfect all the same. I already had my eyes on the belt. It’s not about the opponent, even though I wanted revenge against Alhyasat. But I won the belt and that’s it.”
In the other PFL MENA title fights, Ali Taleb made light work of Rachid El Hazoume with a quick knockout to claim the Bantamweight title. In the Lightweight division, Iran’s Mohsen Mohammadseifi picked up the unanimous decision over Lebanon’s Georges Eid. All PFL MENA title holders walked off with $100,000 each.
In the women’s clash, Saudi star Hattan Alsaif extended her win record to 3-0, dominating Lilia Osmani with a powerful knee strike, dropping Osmani to the floor as the referee stopped the fight.
Meanwhile, the PFL Global Championship fights with its $1 million prize, delivered some devastating knockouts and shock wins, perhaps led by Turkmenistan’s Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov’s stunning knockout of 2023 PFL Light Heavyweight Champion Impa Kasanganay in 58-seconds to claim the 2024 Championship. Yagshimuradov made history as the first man from his country to bag a major global MMA title.
In the main event, Timur Khizriev breezed to a unanimous decision win against 2023 PFL Featherweight Champion Brendan Loughnane. The Russian dominated the Dubai-based Brit and became the fourth Russian PFL athlete to win a Championship in 2024.
Dakota Ditcheva brushed off doubters and confirmed her arrival on the MMA stage as the former PFL Europe Champion finished former UFC title challenger Talia Santos for the 2024 PFL Women’s Flyweight Championship.
Russian Welterweight Shamil Musaev handed Magomed Umalatov a first defeat following a flurry of strikes that ended the bout nearly two minutes into the second round.
In other fights, Gadzhi Rabadanov knocked out former Bellator Champion Brent Primus for the PFL Lightweight World Championship title in the third round. Denis Goltsov captured PFL gold, finishing fellow Russian Oleg Popov by submission in the opening round for the PFL Heavyweight crown.
