SME-Coverage/Samir Bou Saad
Bin Daoud: Excited to confront “Al-Qahtani” and the eyes of the world are on Saudi Arabia
The Moroccan champions participating in the inaugural season of the Professional Fighters League (PFL) in the Middle East and North Africa region announced their readiness to participate in the league competitions, and confirmed their readiness to take on the first challenge of its kind, which will start from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on May 10.
Five players from Morocco are participating in the tournament: Taha Bendaoud, Adam Meskini, Rachid Al-Hazoumi, Maraun Blaguette, and Javier Alaoui. Bendaoud, Al-Hazoumi, and Blaguette participated in a press conference via Zoom video technology to talk about the tournament, their preparations to participate in it, their competitors, and the ambition they have to win the title. And their future goals.
The champion Taha bin Daoud, who, as fate would have it, would complete his studies in Canada and become a champion in mixed martial arts, indicated that he is excited to face the Saudi fighter Abdullah Al-Qahtani in the featherweight fight, as he has an undefeated record with 3 victories in the professional fighters league, and this is something that will increase his… Excitement and enthusiasm.
Bin Daoud added that martial arts have begun to achieve significant growth, and therefore the demand for combat sports, boxing and mixed martial arts will be high. Players for this sport usually come to Europe or to the United States to practice this type of mixed martial arts, and now the matter will be the opposite, as Saudi Arabia will attract professionals from all over the world.
Bin Daoud, who fought his first professional match in America in 2022 and played more than 20 fights in the sport of Muay Thai, and has achievements in the sport of amateur mixed martial arts with 5 victories and one loss, added that he played many matches with mixed martial arts champions in the world, and that internationalism and awards mean to him. A lot and he is ready to participate in the tournament and win the Professional Fighters Association title.
In turn, the fighter Rachid Al-Hazoumi, who is the Spanish champion in kickboxing and MMA, and also the European champion in jiu-jitsu, said that he will strive with all his might to win first place and that he loves this sport after he sought to try many sports and chose professional sports fighting because it is a game that requires the mind and mental presence in addition to continuous training and construction. Muscular.
Al-Hazoumi added that he is ready to face his opponent and is confident of defeating his compatriot Javier Al-Alawi in the bantamweight fight, and that his ambition is to become the best professional player in the world.
Regarding the level of the game in Morocco, Al-Hazoumi said: Most Moroccan players practice it in other countries, and the most widespread are kickboxing and MMA, and there are champions who have world titles and a bright future awaits them.
As for the fighter, Maraun Balagoet, 26 years old, from Casablanca, he switched from playing football to practicing boxing and kickboxing in the 2015-2016 season, and during the period of the spread of the epidemic, he played jiu-jitsu and MMA. He is currently training three times to confront his Palestinian competitor, Moataz Askar, and that he studied it and followed more than one match. He pointed out that this championship will be one of his most important dreams, and he dreams of being crowned with it.
The league, which will be held in cooperation with the “Sarj” Sports Investments Company, is scheduled to play in four rounds, in which the best fighters in the region will participate, starting in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and then heading to the most important fighting capitals in accordance with marketing and technical standards determined by the association.
All the events of the four seasons of the Professional Fighters Association in the Middle East and North Africa will be broadcast live on the MBC Action channel, the Shahid platform, and the SSC Sports Channel. The fights will also be shown on the ESPN/ESPN+ channels in the United States.
