Mehdi Saadi earns split decision over Mohammad Yahya to reach PFL MENA lightweight semis

Mehdi Saadi outpointed Mohammad Yahya by split decision in the PFL MENA 9 main event on Sunday, securing his spot in the lightweight tournament semifinals. The Tunisian’s striking output proved decisive across the three rounds, with judges awarding him the victory.

The co-main event delivered the night’s most emphatic finish. Ylies Djiroun (25-9) dismantled Salah Eddine Hamli (11-1) with sharp, measured striking before a cluster of body shots folded Hamli and prompted a TKO stoppage at 4:20 of the first round. Known as “Broly,” Djiroun controlled the distance throughout, limiting Hamli’s clinch-based game and denying him any path to the ground. Hamli will now face Basel Ahmed Shalaan in the semifinals.

In the featherweight bracket, Kooheji (15-4) used relentless wrestling to neutralise Taha Bendaoud (5-2), keeping “Atlas Lion” on his back for the majority of all three rounds. Bendaoud was unable to threaten with submissions or return to his feet with any consistency, and all three judges scored the bout 29-28 for Kooheji, who advances to the featherweight semifinals.

A scheduled amateur strawweight contest between Zamzam Al Hammadi and Abeer Mansour Anwar Hassan provided one of the card’s more competitive moments. Al Hammadi dominated the grappling exchanges and threatened repeatedly with tight submission attempts, while Hassan showed resilience by surviving and taking the third round on the feet. Al Hammadi improved to a perfect 10-0 as an amateur, winning via unanimous decision on three 29-28 scorecards.

The main card opener between Assem Ghanem and Mohammad Fahmi was cancelled after Ghanem suffered an injury. Fahmi advances in the lightweight tournament by walkover and will face Ahmed El Sisy in the next round.

In preliminary action, Basel Ahmed Shalaan dominated Abdullah Saleem over three rounds to take a decision; El Sisy edged Harda Karim by split decision; Saher Qasmieh claimed a split decision over Hamad Marhoon; Ahmed Albrahim stopped Ibrahim Mahmoud by TKO at 2:47 of the third round in his professional debut; and amateur featherweight Butti Suwaid Alameri swept Hamada Mohamed Osman on all three scorecards, 30-27.