PFL MENA 2 delivered a thrilling night of action in Riyadth, with fast finishes and breakout performances. El Dafrawy Chokes Out Miceli in just over a minute in the main event, cementing his dominance in the welterweight division.
The Professional Fighters League -PFL returned to Riyadh on July 4, 2025, for the highly anticipated PFL MENA 2 event, delivering a powerful night of finishes. Hosted at The Green Halls in Riyadh Saudi Arabia ,the event showcased the quarterfinal matchups in both the welterweight and bantamweight divisions, setting the stage for even more explosive showdowns in the coming rounds.
The main event featured Omar El Dafrawy. El Dafrawy is known for his crisp grappling, calm composure, and ability to finish fights early. As the 2024 PFL MENA Welterweight Champion, El Dafrawy entered the 2025 season with a target on his back and a mission to prove his reign again.
Despite his recent momentum, El Dafrawy’s journey hasn’t been without setbacks and obstacles. In late 2023, he suffered a tough split decision loss in a non-PFL regional bout, an experience that exposed holes in his stand-up game. That defeat became a turning point, pushing him to improve his striking and tighten his defensive gaps. Since that loss, he’s returned sharper and more calculated.
Daniele Miceli his opponent enters the fight with a professional record of 13-7-0 with 7 of those wins coming via submission. Among his most impressive victories was a lightning-fast Von Flue choke against Yassin Najid at PFL Europe 1 in March 2024, ending the bout in just 27 seconds. Later that year, he earned a TKO win over Ibrahima Mané, displaying well-roundedness and solid ground-and-pound.
In the showcase main event, welterweight champion Omar El Dafrawy was able to come away with a quick submission win over 2023 PFL Europe welterweight finalist Daniele Miceli. Miceli scored a takedown and looked to get a Von Flue choke submission. But El Dafrawy escaped it and was able to lock up a triangle choke, surviving a pair of slams before getting the tap just 1:15 into the fight. El Dafrawy wasted no time, locking in a triangle choke just over a minute into the first round. The submission victory at 1:15 not only caught the attention of the cloud but also cemented his spot as a favorite in this year’s tournament.
In the co-main event, Mohammad Alaqraa of Kuwait stepped into the cage with calm confidence and left with a statement win. Taking on Palestine’s Omar Hussein, Alaqraa delivered a composed and technically sound performance from start to finish. He controlled the pace, picked his shots wisely, and never let the moment overwhelm him. The judges saw it the same way, all three judges scored the fight 30-27 in his favor. With this decisive victory, Alaqraa punches his ticket to the next stage of the welterweight bracket and proves he’s more than ready for whatever challenge comes next.
Below are the official results from 2025 PFL MENA 2:
Omar El Dafrawy def. Daniele Miceli via first-round submission (triangle choke)
Mohammad Alaqraa def. Omar Hussein via unanimous decision
Hattan Alsaif def. Nour Al Fliti via second-round verbal submission (retirement [injury])
Mohamed Zarey def. Ayman Galal via unanimous decision
Xavier Alaoui def. Ziad Ayman Mokhtar via unanimous decision
Moktar Benkaci def. Marcel Adur via first-round TKO (body punch)
Badreddine Diani def. Ahmad Abdelbast Darwish via unanimous decision
Amir Fazli def. Rostem Akman via second-round KO
Nawras Abzakh def. Ali Yazbeck via second-round KO (knee and strikes)
Islam Youssef def. Benyamin Ghahraman via second-round KO (flying kick)
Abdelrahman Alhyasat def. Anthony Zeidan via second-round submission (rear-naked choke)
