Exciting Prelims On Jan. 25!

rewrite this content and keep HTML tags

PFL Champions Series 1 is upon us. While MMA‘s top promotion, the UFC, is on a bye week this coming Saturday in the aftermath of UFC 311 in Inglewood, CA at Intuit Dome, the cupboard is far from bare when it comes to competitive violence on the schedule this week.

A busy Saturday of fights kicks off in the morning (US time) for the first PFL Champions Series event of 2025. Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is the site for PFL Champions Series 1. Inside the United States, PFL Champions Series 1 will be seen on MAX (formerly known as HBO Max.) Saturday’s card received a bit of historical subtext early last week.

Veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani made the announcement on his show that the Bellator MMA brand has ceased to exist and all Champions Series events will now carry the PFL signature. Subsequent to the announcement, PFL Champions Series 1 will feature what is probably the last Bellator MMA championship fight ever to occur, a rematch for the Bellator MMA Lightweight Championship between current titleholder Usman Nurmagomedov (18-0, 1 NC MMA, 7-0, 1 NC Bellator) and Paul Hughes (13-0 MMA, 1-0 Bellator.)

PFL Champions Series 1 Featured Prelim: Tarek Suleiman vs. Ahmed Sami

At the top of the bill for the PFL Champions Series 1 prelims is a contest in the middleweight ranks, beginning featured undercard bout at 185 between 22-fight veteran Tarek Suleiman (13-8, 1 NC MMA) and 16-fight alumnus Ahmed Sami (11-4, 1 NC MMA.) Suleiman enters this featured undercard bout having gone 4-1 in his last five contests.

A veteran of UAE Warriors, Suleiman got his hand raised in victory last time out by way of unanimous decision after three rounds in October against Ole Magnor (8-9 MMA) during UAE Warriors 55. With PFL Champions Series 1 being held in Dubai, where his training camp is based, will Suleiman use the energy that the crowd gives him to propel him to another victory?

Across the way, Ahmed Sami has posted a mark of 3-2 in his last five fights, but he’s spent more time seeing scheduled fights of his get canceled than going ahead as planned of late. Prior to this card, he’s had three out of his last four planned contests get scrapped, including one last October against Mostafa Abada Rashed Neda during Battle of the Giants.

He hasn’t stepped inside the cage in about a year, having sustained a unanimous decision defeat to Yousri Belgaroui (8-3 MMA,) a two-time alum of Contender Series, in Levels Fight League 11 last February. How will the lengthy interim between fights play a factor in his performance?

PFL Champions Series 1 Co-Featured Prelim: Mirafzal Akhtamov vs. Mike Thompson

Your co-featured prelim of PFL Champions Series 1 takes place at lightweight between Mirafzal Akhmatov (7-0-1 MMA) and Mike Thompson (7-2 MMA). Akhmatov, a veteran of both the LFA and Karate Combat, enters this weekend having posted a record of 5-0 in his last five fights, sporting an undefeated record across his eight career MMA appearances.

Most recently, he bested Scottie Stockman (10-4 MMA) by way of first-round submission due to a rear-naked choke on Oct. 18 during LFA 194. Time of the stoppage: 54 seconds into the contest. He’s been on quite a roll, going 9-0-1 across all disciplines since the dawn of his combat sports career in September of 2015.

Will Akhmatov score his 10th pro win throughout all competitions? Only time will tell.

In the other corner, Mike Thompson comes into PFL Champions Series 1 with a mark of 4-1 over his last five contests. Currently, he’s on a four-fight winning streak. Thompson, a veteran of UK Fighting Championships, won that promotion’s lightweight championship during Sept. 14’s UKFC 33 from Preston, England versus Rodrigo Miag.

Although this is the co-featured prelim on the card, it’s a fight worthy of your attention on Saturday.

PFL Champions Series 1 Prelims: Hadi Omar Al Hussaini vs. Ruel Panales

Also on the undercard is a flyweight affair matching Hadi Omar Al Hussaini (5-1-1 MMA, 0-1 PFL) against Ruel Panales (5-2, 1 NC MMA). Al Hussaini currently sports a 3-1-1 record over his last five bouts.

Last time out, he sustained a third-round submission defeat (rear-naked choke) to Ziad Ayman Mokhtar (4-1 MMA, 1-0 PFL) in July of last year during PFL MENA 2 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He hasn’t had a sustained winning streak since emerging victorious from four straight fights between June of 2021 and February of 2022. Can Saturday be the day where he starts a new winning streak?

Meanwhile, Ruel Panales has gone 2-2 with one no-contest in his past five contests. Late last summer, he dropped a unanimous decision versus Kiru Sahota (12-3 MMA) in Road to UFC from the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, NV. Sahota has since made his UFC promotional debut.

While Panales may have missed out on a UFC contract, this Saturday is his chance to make waves in the PFL.

𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Your updated #RoadToDubai Fight Card 🔐

•Yakub Sulimanov vs. Jarrah Al-Selawe is off the card•𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘: 11am ET #RoadToDubai | Sat Jan 25 | Coca-Cola Arena | Dubai, UAE | 11AM ET | Streaming on @SportsonMax pic.twitter.com/RKt0kVcrdn

— PFL (@PFLMMA) January 21, 2025