Hattan Al-Saif Affirms Her Position as a Capital of Martial Arts

Sunday, July 12, 2026

Al-Jazeera - Wael Al-Otaibi:

Riyadh presented an exceptional fight night, during which it affirmed its position as the capital of combat sports in the region, after hosting the competitions of the Professional Fighters League for the Middle East and North Africa (PFL MENA), amidst a large audience and high technical levels, resulting in the completion of the list of qualifiers for the semi-final round, which the Saudi capital will host on the second of next October.

Saudi fighter Hattan Al-Saif stole the spotlight in the main event, after recording her first win in her professional career in a remarkable style, by defeating Algeria's Dania Ouhachi via technical knockout in the second round, sending a strong message with the launch of her professional journey, amid noisy audience interaction reflecting the growing popularity of combat sports in the Kingdom. Hattan's brilliance was not the only Saudi highlight, as Malik Basahel continued to confirm his presence as one of the most prominent rising faces in mixed martial arts, after maintaining his perfect unbeaten record, following his unanimous decision victory over Morocco's Imad Al-Azzami, in a performance characterized by confidence and tactical discipline.

Saudi Announcements

Saudi fighter Saud Al-Mulhim also achieved a deserved victory by unanimous decision over Egypt's Abdul Halim Al-Houfi, giving the Saudi fans a new triumph, and confirming the breadth of the national talent base capable of competing in professional tournaments.

In the co-main event, Jordan's Hazem Al-Kayyali secured a qualification ticket to the welterweight semi-finals after his unanimous victory over Lebanon's Hassan Shaaban, while the list of qualifiers was completed with the inclusion of Morocco's Badr Eddine Dyani, Algeria's Abdelkarim Zouad, and Palestine's Omar Hussein. Meanwhile, advancing to the featherweight semi-finals were Algeria's Ilyas Boudghezam and Syria's Shadi Qabbani. Additionally, Algeria's Rayan Othmani finished his fight against Egypt's Islam Mustafa by knockout in the first round, completing the set of competitors for the tournament title.

Hattan Al-Saif affirmed that her victory in her first professional fight represents the beginning of the most important stage in her sports career, pointing out that the knockout win gave her a great moral boost to continue developing and raise the ceiling of her ambitions in upcoming competitions.