Youssef Advances in PFL MENA With Spectacular Flying-Kick Knockout

Islam Youssef delivered one of the season’s most eye-catching finishes at PFL MENA 2 in Riyadh, stopping Benyamin Ghahreman with a flying kick 3:55 into the second round of their bantamweight quarterfinal. The 26-year-old Syrian missed weight at 137.3 pounds for the 135-pound bracket, forcing the bout to proceed at a 138-pound catchweight, but the spectacular knockout improved his record to 6-2 and secured his place in the tournament semifinals. The event at Green Halls also produced two more stoppages that filled semifinal slots. Jordan’s Nawras Abzakh halted Ali Yazebek with a flurry of punches to advance in the bantamweight draw, while Iran’s Amir Fazli needed just a single strike to knock out Sweden’s Rostem Akman in a welterweight quarterfinal.