Mostafa Nada put on a show for his family, friends and home fans with a stunning first-round knockout of Abdel Rahmane Driai in their middleweight main event at the Professional Fighters League Mena 2 event in Riyadh on Friday.
The Saudi fighter landed a big left that buckled Driai in the cage at The Green Halls in the Saudi capital and then followed up with another that dropped him to the canvas.
The Algerian was quickly up on his feet but Nada was in no mood to let him off the hook. He connected with a right to his jaw to send him crashing to the canvas for good, bringing an end to the contest two minutes and 34 seconds into the first round.
“I have been fighting outside the Kingdom all the time and it’s first time in front of my family, friends and fans so I’m super proud of this result,” Nada said.
“I have been practicing combat sports since my childhood. I want to learn the art of MMA. The idea is to be a complete fighter, to teach our children and generations how to defend themselves.
“The professional side is difficult, not everyone can challenge, but with the PFL, it will be a platform for everyone to be professional and support us. We [Saudis] are ready for the challenges.
“Thank you for everyone who came to watch this contest and support me. Your presence inspired me to this win.”
With the result, Nada took his PFL tally to 2-0 and his overall win/loss record to 9-3.
In the co-main, Mohammad Al Aqraa, 24, lived up to his growing reputation by stretching his unbeaten run to six after a third-round stoppage of Youcef Ouabbas at welterweight.
The California-based Kuwaiti grabbed Ouabbas from behind for a take down, then locked his right arm on the ground and pounded until the referee stopped the contest to prevent further punishment.
Al Aqraa joined the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) at age 17 in 2017 and has been training under head coach Javier Mendez, who was at his side in Riyadh.
“Since my first day at the gym, my coach told me that me and him will one day hold a championship belt together, and that’s not far away,” Al Aqraa said after dominating Ouabbas.
Earlier on the card, Jarrah Al Silawi made quick work of Rayan Atmani in their welterweight regular season bout, winning by rear naked choke submission in the first round to move on to the semi-finals.
Also in the welterweight division, Badreddine Diani overcame Amir Fazli by unanimous decision to claim his spot in the last four.
Mohsen Mohammadseifi's striking power was on full display as he stopped Josh Togo by TKO in the first round to advance to the lightweight semi-finals.
Souhil Tahiri earned a unanimous decision over Ahmed Amir in a lightweight regular season bout to secure his spot in the semi-finals.
Omar El Dafrawy put on a dominant performance against Anthony Zeidan, winning by unanimous decision and advancing to the welterweight semi-finals.
Abdullah Saleem secured his spot in the lightweight semi-finals by submitting Omar Reguigui with a triangle choke in the first round.
In the first regular season lightweight bout of the night, Georges Eid outclassed Abbas Khan for three rounds to pick up a unanimous decision win and advance to the semi-finals.
Kicking off the card’s action in a flyweight showcase bout, Ziyad Ayman Mokhtar showed off his grappling skills by submitting Emirati Hadi Omar Al Hussaini by rear-naked choke in the third round.
In a women’s flyweight amateur showcase, Saudi Arabia’s Hattan Alsaif earned her second straight TKO win, defeating Eman Baraka in the second round.
The inaugural PFL Mena season will continue with the PFL Mena bantamweight and featherweight playoffs from Jeddah on 20 September.
