Bichi misses weight at PFL MENA 9, reshaping lightweight tournament bracket

Zakaria Bichi was pulled from the PFL MENA 9 lightweight tournament after missing weight at Saturday’s weigh-ins in Dubai, triggering a last-minute restructure of the 155-pound bracket ahead of Sunday’s card at Coca-Cola Arena. A PFL MENA official confirmed in a social media video that Bichi came in “way heavier” than the lightweight limit and “cannot fight in the lightweight division,” though his exact weight was not disclosed.

With Bichi out, his scheduled opponent Basel Ahmed Shalaan (155.6 lb) has been redirected to face Abdullah Saleem (155.6 lb) in what is now a quarter-final tournament contest. The pairing was originally listed as a non-tournament showcase bout before earlier card changes brought Shalaan into the bracket; Sunday’s reshuffle makes that status official.

The main event is unaffected. Featherweight contenders Mohammad Yahya (145.8 lb) and Mehdi Saadi (145.6 lb) both came in on weight and will headline the “Pride of Arabia” card. The rest of the ten-bout card also cleared the scales, including a women’s bout between Zamzam Al Hammadi (113.4 lb) and Abeer Mansour Anwar Hassan (114.8 lb), and a welterweight clash between Ahmed Albrahim (170 lb) and Ibrahim Mahmoud (169.2 lb).

Full PFL MENA 9 weigh-in results:

Mohammad Yahya (145.8) vs. Mehdi Saadi (145.6)

Salah Eddine Hamli (154.8) vs. Ylies Djiroun (155.2)

Hamza Kooheji (145.6) vs. Taha Bendaoud (145)

Zamzam Al Hammadi (113.4) vs. Abeer Mansour Anwar Hassan (114.8)

Mohammad Fahmi (155.2) vs. Assem Ghanem (154.8)

Basel Ahmed Shalaan (155.6) vs. Abdullah Saleem (155.6)

Ahmed El Sisy (154.4) vs. Harda Karim (155.6)

Hamad Marhoon (125.4) vs. Saher Qasmieh (126)

Ahmed Albrahim (170) vs. Ibrahim Mahmoud (169.2)

Butti Suwaid Alameri (143.6) vs. Hamada Mohamed Osman (144.6)