Rising Emirati MMA fighter Zamzam Al-Hammadi signs with PFL MENA

The UAE's Zamzam Al-Hammadi has been signed up by PFL MENA (PFL)
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Updated 24 April 2025
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Rising Emirati MMA fighter Zamzam Al-Hammadi signs with PFL MENA

  • 17-year-old has won youth world championships in MMA and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and will compete in PFL amateur showcase bouts

DUBAI: The Professional Fighters League has signed Zamzam Al-Hammadi, a rising MMA star from the UAE.

“I’m happy that I’ve signed with PFL MENA and it’s a pleasure for me to be part of the PFL family,” said Al-Hammadi after the recent announcement.

“I’m happy to represent my country on a global stage like the PFL and Inshallah, God will help me to achieve all my dreams.”

Al-Hammadi, 17, is a decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and MMA competitor with titles at the IMMAF Youth World Championships and the JJIF World Youth Championships in 2023.

She currently has a 2-0 record in amateur MMA.

Al-Hammadi comes from a family of martial artists. Her mother, Nada Al-Nuaymi, is a judo and jiu-jitsu practitioner, while her sister Ghala is also a decorated grappler and MMA fighter

“We’re thrilled to bring in one of the fastest rising young stars, not just in the Middle East but also in the world, in Zamzam Al-Hammadi,” said Jerome Mazet, general manager of PFL MENA.

“At such a young age, Zamzam already has world championship experience, and we’re excited to have her on the PFL MENA roster.

“One of the goals of PFL MENA is to be able to showcase homegrown talent, and there’s no better example than Zamzam, who’s going to be a huge inspiration to all the aspiring young talents from the UAE and the Middle East.

“We cannot wait to see what she can do inside the world-famous PFL SmartCage.”

Al-Hammadi will compete in amateur showcase bouts in the upcoming PFL MENA season.

She follows in the footsteps of Saudi Arabia’s Hattan Alsaif, who became the first female from the country to sign with a major MMA promotion in 2024.


Siniakova ends Andreeva Indian Wells defense in third round

Updated 10 March 2026
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Siniakova ends Andreeva Indian Wells defense in third round

  • Siniakova, a former doubles number one, will face either Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina or American Ashlyn Krueger for a place in the quarter-finals

INDIAN WELLS, United States: Unseeded Katerina Siniakova ended a frustrated Mirra Andreeva’s Indian Wells title defense on Monday, rallying for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over the eighth-ranked Russian.
The 18-year-old Andreeva had opened her repeat bid with an imperious 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Solana Sierra.
But she was in trouble early and often against 44th-ranked Siniakova in a rollercoaster contest that featured seven service breaks for each player and 43 break chances between them.
When she sailed a swinging volley long to surrender the second set, Andreeva threw her racquet in disgust.
She regrouped to break Siniakova for a 3-2 lead in the third, but Siniakova won the next four games.
The Czech saved a pair of break points in the final game before sealing the match with a shot that struck the net cord and dribbled over as Andreeva could only watch, disappointment sparking another outburst from the Russian as she departed the court.
Siniakova, a former doubles number one, will face either Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina or American Ashlyn Krueger for a place in the quarter-finals.
In other early matches, fifth-seeded American Jessica Pegula shook off a slow start to beat Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Pegula, coming off her fourth career WTA 1000 title at Dubai last month, fired 11 aces with just one double fault as she rallied for the win.
“I think today I had to kind of snap myself back and kind of lock in to not let that get away from me,” said Pegula, who said she was in danger of letting negativity and frustration get the better of her.
“I didn’t think I was playing bad. It was just letting a couple chances, couple breaks here and there (get away), maybe a couple shots that I could have been more aggressive on.”
Later on Stadium Court, world number two Iga Swiatek took on Greece’s Maria Sakkari — the woman she beat in the Indian Wells finals in 2022 and 2024.
Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, who lifted the Indian wells Trophy in 2023, played Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final match of the night.