Omar El Dafrawy has been on a roll since leaving everything, including his business in his native Egypt, behind to reside in Bali and focus full-time on his MMA career.
He has gone undefeated in five fights during the two years since relocating, leading to his place in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) Mena 3 welterweight semi-final play-offs, where he takes on Jarrah Al Silawi at Boulevard City in Riyadh, on Friday.
It represents a remarkable turnaround for the Egyptian, whose career looked in jeopardy after losing four fights in succession.
“I realised I had too many things to handle after losing four fights in a row and that’s the time I left everything to just concentrate on my career as a professional MMA fighter,” El Dafrawy told The National.
“Back home, I was involved in MMA, running a gym and doing a business management degree and various other involvements, so much so it even took me eight years to complete my degree.
“I decided to leave behind everything and move out to Bali just to pursue my MMA career. That’s what I wanted to do and after I came here everything in my career changed.
“I was losing not because I wasn’t training, it was because I was not very focused. I was not mentally in a good place but the environment I was in was not very healthy for me to be training.”
El Dafrawy first moved to Thailand before settling in Bali, following a friend’s advice. It's a decision that has already bared fruit; his five-fight winning run began after moving to the Indonesian island.
“In Bali, everything just opened up for me, like I had many opportunities. I felt like many doors were opening for me and I just felt that I'm enjoying it here and things are going well for me,” he said.
“I have a great team behind me. I have my nutritionist here, my plans are to the point, the island is beautiful, it's giving me what I want, so this is why I decided to stick here.”
I decided to leave behind everything and move out to Bali just to pursue my MMA career. After I came here everything in my career changed
Omar El Dafrawy
El Dafrawy's winning streak began with a unanimous decision over Australian Campbell Symes in the Bali MMA Canggu Fight Night 26 in July 2023. He then outclassed his next two opponents, Jovidon Khojaev of Tajikistan and Filipino Lhar Ocampo, via TKOs in the same promotion.
Returning to UAE Warriors, he scored a first-round knockout against Kuwaiti Abdulla Al Bousheiri before a unanimous decision against Lebanon's Anthony Zeidan on his PFL debut in Riyadh to book his place in the play-offs.
Standing between him and a place in the final is Jordan's Al Silawi – an experienced fighter with a professional record of 20-6.
“Jarrah is a well-rounded fighter, but like I have proven in my previous fights and what I can do to my opponents, he’s not going to go the distance,” said El Dafrawy, whose record stands at 11-6.
“I will break him like what I had done to my opponents in the last five appearances. I have the skills and now my attitude inside the cage has changed after I started to focus only on my fighting.
“My last fight in the PFL against Anthony, he showed that he could take all my punches and the punishments. Jarrah will not take as many punches as Anthony did. I promise, if I'm able to land the same volume of strikes on him he will be done by the first round.”
El Dafrawy’s professional debut ended in defeat to fellow Egyptian Ahmed Soliman at the Arabic Ultimate Fighting Championship 10 in Cairo in October 2016. He won the next two contests before suffering his second loss to compatriot Ahmed Sami. Thereafter, four successive wins were followed by four consecutive defeats that necessitated his move to Bali.
“I fought in many different promotions and I have been robbed by so many different promotions,” El Dafrawy said of his early days in MMA.
“Life is tough for MMA fighters back home in Egypt but the good thing is it provides the platform. I have been through all that but now I’m in a better position with this break from the PFL. “
El Dafrawy, who first got into combat sports after watching the move Southpaw in 2016, took a break from MMA to complete two years of national military service, returning to the sport in September 2022. Since reviving his career in Bali, his main training partner has been Eliezer Kubanza, an active MMA pro from Congo with a 6-0 record.
“He’s one of the best MMA fighters and I train with him,” El Dafrawy said. “He’s young, strong, very skilful and talented. Aside from being undefeated in MMA, he has over 300 martial arts fights in karate and street fights.
“I have been in camp with Eliezer for the last four months, and training and sparring with him has kept me in great shape. So, I’m going into this fight against Jarrah well prepared to take the win.”
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 3
Sadio Man 28'
Andrew Robertson 34'
Diogo Jota 88'
Arsenal 1
Lacazette 25'
Man of the match
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Read more from Mina Al-Oraibi
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The specs: 2018 Bentley Bentayga V8
Price, base: Dh853,226
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 550hp @ 6,000pm
Torque: 770Nm @ 1,960rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.4L / 100km
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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%3Cp%3EFirst%20ODI%20-%20Sunday%2C%20June%204%20%0D%3Cbr%3ESecond%20ODI%20-%20Tuesday%2C%20June%206%20%0D%3Cbr%3EThird%20ODI%20-%20Friday%2C%20June%209%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMatches%20at%20Sharjah%20Cricket%20Stadium.%20All%20games%20start%20at%204.30pm%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EMuhammad%20Waseem%20(captain)%2C%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20Adithya%20Shetty%2C%20Ali%20Naseer%2C%20Ansh%20Tandon%2C%20Aryansh%20Sharma%2C%20Asif%20Khan%2C%20Basil%20Hameed%2C%20Ethan%20D%E2%80%99Souza%2C%20Fahad%20Nawaz%2C%20Jonathan%20Figy%2C%20Junaid%20Siddique%2C%20Karthik%20Meiyappan%2C%20Lovepreet%20Singh%2C%20Matiullah%2C%20Mohammed%20Faraazuddin%2C%20Muhammad%20Jawadullah%2C%20Rameez%20Shahzad%2C%20Rohan%20Mustafa%2C%20Sanchit%20Sharma%2C%20Vriitya%20Aravind%2C%20Zahoor%20Khan%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
TOURNAMENT INFO
Opening fixtures:
Friday, Oct 5
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers
Saturday, Oct 6
4pm: Nangarhar Leopards v Kandahar Knights
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Balkh Legends
Tickets
Tickets can be bought online at https://www.q-tickets.com/apl/eventlist and at the ticket office at the stadium.
TV info
The tournament will be broadcast live in the UAE on OSN Sports.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
THE SPECS
Engine: six-litre W12 twin-turbo
Transmission: eight-speed dual clutch auto
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh940,160 (plus VAT)
On sale: Q1 2020
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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