The Professional Fighters League’s Middle East division is kicking off its 2026 season in Dubai this weekend after a sudden change of plans.
The event, PFL MENA 9: Pride of Arabia, will take place on Sunday at the Coca-Cola Arena. It was first planned for May 8 in Saudi Arabia but had to be postponed and moved because of travel disruption linked to the US-Israel war with Iran.
In an exclusive interview with 7News Morocco, PFL MENA executive Jerome Mazet said Dubai was the obvious choice.
“Dubai was the city that was operating the closer to normality,” he said. “Emirates was operating far more routes than any other airlines in the region.”
“We also spoke with Dubai Sports Council, Dubai Economy & Tourism Department and ultimately Coca Cola Arena who all gave us great comfort and reassurance to host our event.”
Big fights to start the season
This Dubai card is the official start of the 2026 season. It includes quarter-final fights in the lightweight and featherweight tournaments.
In the main event, Emirati fighter Mohammad Yahya will fight Tunisia’s Mehdi Saadi in his first PFL bout at home.
Moroccan and MMA fans will be watching Salah Eddine Hamli closely. He is the current PFL MENA lightweight champion and will face Algeria’s Ylies Djiroun in his first fight of the season.
Mazet spoke highly of him: “Hamli has tremendous potential and has the right level of support around him. I think his potential is limitless,” he said. “He could very well fighting for a World Championship belt in a few years.”
He added, “To me he is the Lamine Yamal of MMA.”
Rivalries add extra edge
Hamli’s fight also brings back the Morocco vs Algeria rivalry, which Mazet says helps build interest.
“This is the beauty of PFL MENA, to regroup the best Arab fighters and have all the regional flags represented,” he said. He added that it brings pride and can make fights “more electric”.
Morocco still waiting for its moment
Even though Morocco has many top fighters, it has not yet hosted a PFL event.
“Morocco has one of the most impressive roster of MMA talent in the region,” Mazet said. But there is one problem. “We have not been able to find the relevant partners to assist us in hosting our first event there,” he said.
The next event in Jeddah will again include several Moroccan fighters including last-year runner-up in the welterwieght Baddredine Diani, Wissame Akhmouch, Rachid El Hazoume, and Imad El Azami.
Mazet said the country already has a strong base. “There is a real culture for all combat sports,” he said. “The last missing piece of the puzzle is to have big fights being held in Morocco,” he said.
The action is in Dubai next Sunday. Morocco may be next, if the right partners step in.
