RIYADH: Battle of the Giants: Brace For Impact, which will take place on Saturday, is set to enhance Saudi Arabia’s position as a global hub for combat sports, say the CEOs of the Professional Fighters League and Saudi Mixed Martial Arts Federation.
The big fight night at The Mayadeen will be headlined by Francis Ngannou’s PFL debut against 6-foot-8-inch phenomenon Renan “Problema” Ferreira for the heavyweight world title, while MMA legend Cris Cyborg faces hard-hitting Brazilian Larissa Pacheco in the women’s featherweight world title fight.
Saturday’s fight night is the latest of six PFL events in the Kingdom in 2024 so far and reinforces Saudi Arabia’s role as a leading destination for major MMA competitions.
PFL and SMMAF have partnered up to advance the sport across the Kingdom. On Wednesday they held a joint media day in Riyadh to promote both Saturday’s fight and the growth of mixed martial arts in the Kingdom.
Abdullah Al-Hazza, CEO of SMMAF, said: “Hosting major international events and partnering with organizations like PFL not only puts Saudi Arabia on the global MMA map but also brings world-class fighters and competitions to our local audience. And that is very much the case with Battle of the Giants: Brace For Impact on Saturday in Riyadh.
“Partnerships like ours provide Saudi fighters with the opportunity to train and compete against the best in the world, and the exposure and experience gained through these events are invaluable for the development of our athletes. Just ask Hattan Al-Saif, Mostafa Nada, Malik Basahel and Abdullah Al-Qahtani, for example, all of whom have demonstrated their skills and elevated their careers.”
Meanwhile, Pete Murray, CEO of PFL, reiterated the brand’s support for Saudi Arabia’s vision of building a world-class MMA ecosystem of MMA and of being a global leader within it.
“This ties to Vision 2030, with the idea of developing future champions,” he said. “We at PFL pledge to play our role, and this continues Saturday when we couldn’t be prouder to host the biggest MMA event about at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, headlined by world-class fighters in Francis Ngannou and Renan Ferreira.
“Riyadh has become the fight capital of the world, with boxing and now MMA. The region itself is a major demand growth market and the epicenter of that is right here.”
Saudi Arabia has hosted more than 100 global sports events since 2018, with 2.5 million international fans in attendance. The number of sports federations has increased by 200 percent in the last nine years from 32 in 2015 to 97 in 2024. And Saudi people have clearly been inspired — the number of people participating in sports rose from 13 percent in 2015 to 48 percent in 2023.
