PFL shifts MENA Season 3 opener to Dubai

The Professional Fighters League will be moving its upcoming card in the Middle East a hop, skip and 800km down the road.

Earlier in April, the organization elected to reschedule its first PFL MENA card of the year. The show was initially set for the Dhahran Expo in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, on May 8. On Thursday, it was bumped to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for May 24. Additionally, PFL MENA first event in 2026 has changed its additional title from “Rise of the Gulf” to “Pride of Arabia,” and it will feature most of the fights from the initial billing plus a few amateur showcases.

A world class welterweight clash headlines PFL Sioux Falls: Tune in Saturday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Earlier in the year, the PFL was planning on scaling back its bantamweight division in the MENA region to run three brackets at featherweight, lightweight and welterweight. Of those three, featherweights and lightweights will be having their various quarterfinal matches, although the current lineup of PFL MENA 2026 1 only lists two tourney tilts at 145 pounds and four at lightweight plus an alternate bout. It is unclear if the promotion will add any more fights to the card as it stands, but it has reordered the billing itself to shift bouts around and set a new headliner compared to the one originally pinned for May 8.

The new main attraction will see UAE native Mohammad Yahya (12-6) debut with the promotion against Mehdi Saadi (6-2) in a featherweight quarterfinal clash. They were booked on the main card previously, but perhaps due to change in location, Yahya-Saadi was bumped up to the top billing. It will be Yahya’s first outing since a trio of unsuccessful walks to the Ultimate Fighting Championship cage, while Saadi too will be making his first PFL appearance after fairly decent recent results in UAE Warriors and Ares FC.

PFL MENA 2026 Season 3 rebooked lineup:

Mohammad Yahya vs. – featherweight vs. – lightweight vs. – featherweight vs. TBA – amateur women’s strawweight vs. – lightweight vs. – lightweight vs. – lightweight vs. – lightweight vs. – flyweight vs. – welterweight vs. TBA – amateur featherweight