The Professional Fighters League (PFL) will launch its inaugural PFL Mena event next month in Riyadh, with home favourite Abdullah Al Qahtani headlining.
The new regional mixed martial arts league, announced earlier this year, will take place on May 10 in the Saudi Arabian capital at The Green Halls, and comprises of athletes from featherweight and bantamweight divisions. The fighters will compete in the traditional, play-off-win-and-advance PFL format.
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The first Saudi to sign with the PFL, Al Qahtani tops the bill, where he will face off against fellow featherweight Taha Benaoud of Morocco. Al Qahtani last fought in February, at the promotion’s first event in Saudi, entitled “PFL Champions vs Bellator Champions”.
There, he registered a third-round TKO victory against India's Edukondala Rao, marking Al Qahtani’s third successive win since joining the PFL. The Riyadh-born athlete’s professional record stands 8-1-0.
Elsewhere, Hattan Al Saif, the first female fighter from Saudi Arabia to sign a contract with a leading global MMA promotion, will debut. Al Saif takes on Egyptian Nada Faheem in an amateur female atomweight bout.
"PFL Mena: Riyadh" will represent the first of four events taking place in the league this year, with the others, yet to be confirmed, to be staged “across key markets” in the Middle East.
PFL Mena, the company’s second international league after the launch last year of PFL Europe, is designed to promote the region’s top fighters, while also providing a pathway to compete in the PFL globally.
Last August, the PFL signed an investment agreement with SRJ Sports Investments, an entity owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. As part of the partnership, SRJ acquired a minority equity ownership in the PFL, and became an investor in PFL Mena.
In a statement released on Thursday, PFL CEO Pete Murray said: "PFL is all about creating opportunities, and we're proud to offer fighters in the Mena region a chance to compete. With its talented athletes, Mena is a perfect fit for PFL's season format, giving fighters a big stage to showcase their skills.
"By bringing top-tier events to the region, we're not only serving passionate MMA fans but also pushing the sport forward. Our goal is to grow MMA and expand PFL's reach globally, and working with SRJ Sports to build PFL Mena has been incredibly rewarding."
Danny Townsend, CEO at SRJ Sports Investments, added in the release: “The launch of PFL Mena is another massive moment for sport in this region and we are thrilled to have played our part in making it happen.
"As SRJ, we’re aiming to redefine the landscape of international sport in a way that brings more and more opportunities to Middle Eastern sport and young talent and grows our shared sporting ecosystem.
"PFL Mena will do just that, with 'PFL Mena: Riyadh' launching the perfect global platform to showcase the trailblazing talent coming from this part of the world.”
All four PFL Mena Season events will be live on MBC Action and on Shahid, the leading streaming platform in the Mena region. The PFL Global Season, PFL Europe, the Bellator Champions Series and PFL’s Pay-Per-View Superfight Division events will be available to watch on the Saudi Sports Company SSC via Shahid’s VIP + Sports package. Highlights can also be seen on MBC Action, Shahid & SSC.
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Date of start: 2013
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Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
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US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
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2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
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