RIYADH: One of the Kingdom’s fastest-rising fighters will be stepping into the PFL’s SmartCage when Eithar Hayyan makes her amateur mixed martial arts debut on the card at PFL MENA Semifinals: Champions Collide on Saturday, Sept. 27, at The Arena in Riyadh.

Hayyan is a highly-decorated taekwondo enthusiast and has represented Saudi Arabia in multiple international competitions over the years. She added another gold medal to her collection last October, bagging the top prize in the 49 kg category at the Women’s Taekwondo Competition at the 2024 Saudi Games in Riyadh.

Hayyan will take on Egyptian amateur boxing national champion and fellow newcomer Marwa “Bad Kitty” Abdelmonem in an amateur women’s strawweight showcase bout.

Hayyan said: “The road to the PFL has been carved through sacrifice, pain, and relentless discipline. I have walked through battles most will never see, surviving storms that could have broken me, yet each scar became a mark of strength.

“My faith in God and my belief in myself carried me through when nothing else did. Life’s hardships shaped me into a fighter who refuses to surrender, and now I rise, ready to step into the cage on Sept. 27; not just to compete, but to begin a new chapter.

“This is more than a fight; it is proof that from the hardest roads come the strongest warriors, and from struggle is born a future full of light.”

Hayyan will make history by becoming the second female MMA fighter from Saudi Arabia. She follows in the footsteps of Hattan Alsaif, the trailblazer who made her PFL debut last year and paved the way for other aspiring female athletes from the Kingdom and the Middle East to chase their dreams and pursue a career in combat sports.

The card also features exciting semifinal matchups in the bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight divisions, showcasing the best fighters from the Middle East battling it out to move one step closer to PFL MENA gold.

In the main event, top 170-pounders collide for a spot in the welterweight tournament finals as Kuwait’s Mohammad Alaqraa (8-1) faces Egypt’s Ayman Galal (4-1, 2 NC), while Mohsen Mohammadseifi (8-2) of Iran takes on Mohammad Fahmi (5-0) of Iraq in a lightweight tournament semifinal bout.