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#1- FROM MMA AND THE BELLATOR-PFL MATCHES- PFL’s Renan Ferreira knocked out Bellator’s Ryan Bader in all of 21 seconds, taking home the main battle and preventing a clean sweep by Bellator fighters, who Bleacher Report says took all five bouts on the main card before Ferreira stepped into the ring.
Boxing heavyweights Mike Tyson, Francis Ngannou were in town to attend the inaugural PFL vs Bellator faceoff, the Associated Press reports. Ngannou is looking to make his PFL debut some time this year against Ferreira.
REMEMBER- Ngannou will go head to head against Anthony Joshua in a heavyweight boxing match in Riyadh on 8 March.
#2-PFL season is coming to Riyadh this summer: The Professional Fighters League (PFL) will kick off its inaugural season in the region this May with Riyadh hosting a number of events, founder and chair of the American MMA organization Don Davis told Bloomberg in an interview. “We will bring other big global mega events to Riyadh and Saudi Arabia,” Davis said, without providing further details.
The PFL is emerging challenger to the UFC:PIF-backed PFL is bidding to challenge the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s dominance of the industry. It has poured in USD 250 mn as part of its global expansion over the past five years and is working to set up regional leagues to boost competition, Davis said.
The PIF’s SRJ Sports Investment is all in: The PIF-backed sports fund has so far injected USD 100 mn into the PFL and is a 50-50 partner in the planned Middle East season, according to Davis.
#3- The first female MMA card ever to take place in the Kingdom went down yesterday, with two-time Olympic boxing gold medallist and world champion in three weight classes Claressa Shields defeating Kelsey DeSantis in a split decision in Riyadh, BBC Sport reports.
#4- Senor Buscador won yesterday the Saudi Cup 2024 — the world’s most valuable horse race with a prize purse of USD 20 mn. The six-year-old horse overtook Ushba Tesoro and the Saudi Crown.
#5- A last-minute own goal by Toma Tabatadze handed Al Ittihad a 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan’s Navbahor last week in the AFC Champions League. The own goal secured Al Ittihad’s spot in the quarter finals to clash with rival Al Hilal.
#6- The women’s national team bid farewell to the 2024 West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) in Jeddah after losing 2-0 against Guam on Friday.
