RIYADH: A mixed martial arts trilogy a decade in the making is set to finally conclude at the latest Professional Fighters League event in Riyadh on Friday night. Saudi fighter Mostafa Neda and Egypt’s Osama El-Saidy will once again face off in the cage at PFL MENA 11 in a light-heavyweight showdown the region’s MMA faithful have been waiting for since 2016, when the pair each won one of their previous two battles. Looking ahead to the showdown, at the Global Theater in Boulevard City, PFL MENA’s general manager, Jerome Mazet, called it like it is: “This main event is a trilogy 10 years in the making and we are giving those guys — and all the fans around the region who were there for the first two fights — the chance to see” it. The media attempted to stoke the fires for the main event by revisiting El-Saidy’s victory over Neda in their second fight, which took place at Desert Force 25 in December 2016, by asking him whether a move deemed illegal had tarnished his win. El-Saidy was dismissive of the suggestion: “If what I did in the second fight was illegal, then I could go back to the first fight (in March 2016 at Desert Force 21, which Neda won) and make a complaint. But I don’t like to comment on refereeing decisions.” Neda, who broke two bones in his left forearm at a PFL “Road to Dubai” event in January last year, said he was ready and confident about his rematch with El-Saidy. “Hopefully, I’ll knock him out in the first round with the same arm I broke,” he said. The main event is not all that fans can look forward to on Friday, as the card also includes the semi-finals of welterweight, featherweight and lightweight divisions, with the winners advancing to the championship finals. The welterweight clash between Morocco’s Badreddine Diani and Hazem Kayyali of Jordan is another one to watch, and it was clear during the prefight press conference on Thursday that Kayyali was looking forward to it. “I have watched Badreddine a lot; he is a veteran name, after all,” he said. “I tip my hat to him for his last fight (a victory over Yousef Adel on July 10), but I envisioned myself in this position three years ago. “He is not fighting an opponent that is looking past him, but one who respects him a lot. And he’ll see that in the cage.” Speaking about the broader PFL MENA picture, Mazet told Arab News that he has seen PFL MENA develop since he took over as general manager in January 2024. “I think we are in a good place right now,” he said. “I think a platform where the best MMA talents of both today and tomorrow can thrive and develop is what was missing in this market. “We have proven that it can exist and that you can attract the best fighters and develop them.” Hattan Al-Saif, responsible for the fastest female knockout in PFL MENA history and already an icon among Saudi fighters, drew particular praise from Mazet. “We signed her in January 2024, she turned professional and she excelled,” he said. “I am really proud of stories like hers.” That sense of pride was echoed by fellow Saudi fighter Fatima Al-Ammari, who will take on Aya Lounes in a featherweight bout at PFL MENA 11. “Hattan and I represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as female fighters, so our successes are the successes of every Saudi girl,” she said. While significant growth is taking place in the sport, Mazet acknowledged there was a major challenge PFL must still overcome. “I think the biggest challenge that we have faced, are still facing, and that most people are facing in this sport, is visibility,” he said. “It is not a sport that is mainstream yet. UFC is its own thing, but everything else in MMA is still very much under the radar.” Nevertheless, Mazet remains confident in the growth trajectory of PFL MENA, and believes there is much to build upon over the next three years. “I would like to see at least double the number of events per year; a minimum of eight across multiple regions,” he said. As for longer-term ambitions, he said: “I would like to see one of our fighters win a world belt. “Could it be Omar El-Dafrawy at the PFL, or somebody further down the road heading to the UFC? “That is ultimately our mission at PFL MENA: to develop the best Arab fighters and then send them on to become potentially the best global fighters.”