Egypt’s El-Dafrawy to take on Australia’s Martinez at PFL New York

DUBAI: The Professional Fighters League has added a welterweight bout to its July 31 card in New York, pairing Egyptian PFL MENA champion Omar “God First” El-Dafrawy against Australian veteran David “The Smiling Assassin” Martinez at UBS Arena in Elmont, Long Island.

PFL New York is headlined by undefeated PFL Lightweight Champion Usman Nurmagomedov (21-0, 1 NC) defending his belt against the equally undefeated Archie Colgan (13-0). Dakota Ditcheva (15-0) takes on Dutch kickboxing and MMA veteran Denise Kielholtz (9-5) in the co-main event.

El-Dafrawy, 31, was born in Cairo, Egypt, and trains out of Soma Fight Club. His path to PFL New York has been anything but a straight line. He started his career fighting as far back as 2017, picking up wins while still operating in relative obscurity. By the early 2020s, he had gone on a four-fight losing skid, a stretch that would have ended most careers.

The turnaround started with a decision to leave Egypt and relocate to Bali, Indonesia, where he committed to training full time. He reopened his account in July 2023 with a unanimous decision over Australian Campbell Symes at Bali MMA’s Canggu Fight Night, then stopped Jovidon Khojaev and Lhar Ocampo in back-to-back fights at the same promotion. The finishes came with a message: El-Dafrawy was not the same fighter anymore.

A first-round knockout over Kuwait’s Abdulla Al-Bousheiri in January 2024 served as his calling card, the performance that earned him a PFL contract. He described the win as a defining moment, one that let him rebuild confidence after the setbacks of the losing run.

He entered the 2024 PFL MENA welterweight tournament and went through it without a loss, beating Anthony Zeidan by decision, stopping Jarrah