Abdullah Al Qahtani eyes gold after 'perfect' Saudi charge at inaugural PFL Mena event

Saudi mixed martial artist Abdullah Al Qahtani says he has eyes firmly on gold after he headlined a hometown hat-trick at the inaugural PFL Mena event last weekend.

Al Qahtani, the first from the kingdom to sign for the Professional Fighters League (PFL), cruised past Jordan’s Yazeed Hasanain at The Green Halls in Riyadh on Friday, winning by verbal submission right at the end of the second round. In doing so, the Riyadh-born athlete advanced to the featherweight semi-finals later this year.

Now 9-1-0 as a pro, Al Qahtani was initially to open his PFL Mena account against Morocco’s Taha Bendaoud. However, Bendaoud had to be replaced late on because of reported weight struggles.

“Thanks to God, my fight went how I wanted, and according to the plan,” Al Qahtani told The National. “The fighter changed in the last minute, but everything is good, everything is going like I want.

“Really, I wanted to fight with the Moroccan guy, the other one. But it’s OK, it is what it is.

“When I won, I feel a good feeling after the big win here in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in my hometown. I win by TKO but a special TKO. Maybe I wanted to win by a good knockout, but this TKO was a special one.

“I love it. It’s me, it’s my fighting style. I’m going to let my opponent want to stop the fight, that he can’t, that he doesn’t know what he wants to do.

“This is my style in fighting, and this is what I love in MMA. This is what I love, and this is what I do.”

Al Qahtani delivered on his spot at the top of the billing at PFL Mena: Riyadh, rounding off a perfect night for Saudi fighters as the PFL kicked off their latest regional league – and first in Mena – with a focus on featherweights and bantamweights.

The opening event of four this season, PFL Mena