Top Reasons to Catch 2025 PFL MENA 2

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Omar El Dafrawy put a target on his back in the Professional Fighters League when he won the inaugural PFL Middle East and North Africa welterweight tournament some seven months ago.

The 30-year-old Soma Fight Club rep will draw a marquee assignment when he locks horns with Daniele Miceli in the 2025 PFL MENA 2 headliner on Friday at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. El Dafrawy enters the cage on the strength of a personal-best seven-fight winning streak. He last saw action on Nov. 29, when he brought down Mohammad Alaqraa with punches in the second round of their PFL MENA welterweight final. A $100,000 payday accompanied the victory. Miceli, meanwhile, has lost only once in his past six outings, as he tapped to a rear-naked choke from Florim Zendeli in the 2024 PFL Europe welterweight final in December. It was his first setback in more than three years. Miceli, 37, has secured seven of his 13 career wins by submission.

Outside of the El Dafrawy-Miceli showdown atop the bill, here are two other reasons to catch PFL MENA 2:

Not Quite a Mulligan

The aforementioned Alaqraa has some unfinished business to which to tend. The 2024 PFL MENA finalist sets out on his latest quest when his welterweight quarterfinal opposite Omar Hussein serves as the co-main event. Alaqraa suffered his first career setback in November, when he succumbed to punches from El Dafrawy in the second round of their tournament final at 170 pounds. The 25-year-old Kuwaiti prospect reps the famed American Kickboxing Academy camp, which offers him regular access to a host of world-class coaches and training partners. In his path stands Hussein. The Team Kaobon export has not competed in well over a year, having nailed down a unanimous decision over Seth Rosario under the 971 Fighting Championship banner on May 4, 2024. Hussein, 29, has spent time in the Gladiator Challenge, UAE Warriors and Brave Combat Federation organizations.

Wise Guys

In terms of experience, few on the PFL MENA roster can match Moktar Benkaci. The 33-fight veteran looks to maintain his momentum when he puts Marcel Adur to the test in a bantamweight tournament quarterfinal. Benkaci has rattled off four consecutive victories since he wound up on the wrong side of a contentious split decision against Frans Mlambo in the 2023 PFL Europe semifinals. “Le Kabyle” has secured 20 of his 24 professional wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission, 12 of them inside one round. Adur, meanwhile, steps into his PFL debut on the heels of a Nov. 13 armbar submission of Ultimate Fighting Championship alum Guido Cannetti at a Fusion Fighting Championship show in Argentina. He has held titles previously in the Noxii Combat and Nitrix Champion Fight promotions.