Top atomweight prospect Hattan Alsaif continued her winning career start with another stoppage at PFL MENA last night.
The fast-rising amateur sensation is one of the latest prospects the be picked up by the PFL and nurtured through her early career. It follows the successes of Biaggio Ali Walsh and Nathan Kelly, both of whom have gone unbeaten in their amateur runs for the promotion.
After a successful debut at the first PFL MENA event in May, Alsaif’s following has continued to grow in the Middle East. She has won both of her bouts by stoppage, and has garnered praise from a number of key figures in the sport.
Hattan Alsaif lands second PFL MENA stoppage in Riyadh
Friday night’s second iteration of the PFL MENA [Middle East and North Africa] season took place at The Green Halls in Riyadh, where their May show had also taken place. The competition is a follow on from PFL’s global and European seasons, while events also feature showcase bouts.
Unlike many other major promotions, PFL have opted to take amateur prospects from their very early fights through to the professional ranks. In America, they’ve guided Muhammad Ali’s grandson Biaggio Ali Walsh through, with Conor McGregor teammate Nathan Kelly a project in Europe.
But perhaps the name making the most noise is Hattan Alsaif in the MENA region. The 22-year-old is the first woman from Saudi Arabia to sign with a major global promotion, and has attracted attention from the likes of CNN and other media outlets during her initial run.
And it appears that at this early stage Alsaif is backing up her pre-fight talk with performances in the cage. After stopping Nada Faheem in her debut with a head-kick rarely seen in the atomweight ranks, she forced Eman Baraka to quit on her stool after two rounds last night.
Hattan Alsaif receives praise from Turki Alalshikh after PFL MENA win
Footage of Friday’s bout made its way around social media as Alsaif made one of the bigger impressions of the night in Riyadh. Over 888,000 watched on X, formerly Twitter, as she landed a push kick that sent Baraka across the cage early.
Fans were quick to reply as she made a statement in Arabic on social media, with many sharing the sentiments of one who wrote “Thank you, you made us smile for the second time. Congratulations. I wish you continued success.
And perhaps the most noteworthy name to take interest in Alsaif’s career was boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh. The billionaire is the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, and is known best in America and the UK for funding some of the biggest boxing matches of the last year.
Taking to social media, Alalshikh shared a photo of Alsaif facing off with Baraka ahead of their fight with a caption which translated to English by X read: “Our daughter.” He accompanied the message with a number of emojis including the Saudi flag.