PFL MENA will open its 2026 season in Dubai this weekend, with two nights at Coca-Cola Arena built around regional fighters, live music and a home headline bout for Mohammad Yahya.
The event, titled Pride of Arabia, runs from May 23 to 24 and brings together fighters from 11 countries across the Middle East and North Africa.
Yalla Sports reported last month that Yahya would headline the Dubai card. The latest details now confirm a broader two-night format.
The weekend starts on May 23 with the ceremonial weigh-in and concerts from Egyptian artist Mohamed Ramadan and Saudi singer Bader Al Shuaibi. Fight night follows on May 24.
Yahya, known as “The UAE Warrior”, will make his PFL debut against Tunisia’s Mehdi Saadi in a featherweight tournament quarter-final.
The UAE fighter comes into the bout with a 12-6 record and will compete in front of a home crowd. Saadi, who holds a 6-2 record, has described the contest as “a fight between Dubai and Abu Dhabi” and said he wants to finish it in the second round.
Yahya said the occasion will not change his approach.
“The pressure doesn’t really affect me. I’ve fought in many big events before, including main events. I’m just focused on my goal, and that’s winning this fight.”
The card will also include Zamzam Al Hammadi’s PFL MENA debut.
The 18-year-old Emirati, an IMMAF Youth World Champion, will face Abeer Mansour in the Women’s Strawweight Amateur Showcase. Al Hammadi is the UAE’s first female MMA fighter to compete in a major regional promotion.
She said she is fighting first for the UAE, then for her mother, Nada Al Nuaymi, who has competed in judo and jiu-jitsu.
The co-main event will feature Morocco’s unbeaten Salah Eddine Hamli against Algeria’s Ylies Djiroun in a lightweight tournament quarter-final. Hamli enters with an 11-0 record, while Djiroun brings far more professional experience at 24-9.
Other bouts include Bahrain’s Hamza Kooheji against Morocco’s Taha Bendaoud, Mohammad Fahmi against Assem Ghanem, Ahmed El Sisy against Harda Karim, and Georges Eid against Hussein Fakher.
Jerome Mazet, General Manager of PFL MENA, said the event reflects the wider growth of combat sport in the region.
“Pride of Arabia is exactly that, a celebration of this region, its fighters and its fans,” he said.
