The Professional Fighters League has added a welterweight bout to its July 31 card in New York, pairing Egyptian PFL MENA champion Omar “God First” El-Dafrawy against Australian veteran David “The Smiling Assassin” Martinez at UBS Arena in Elmont, Long Island.
Main Event and Co-Main Event
PFL New York is headlined by undefeated PFL Lightweight Champion Usman Nurmagomedov (21-0, 1 NC) defending his belt against the equally undefeated Archie Colgan (13-0). Dakota Ditcheva (15-0) takes on Dutch kickboxing and MMA veteran Denise Kielholtz (9-5) in the co-main event.
El-Dafrawy's Journey
El-Dafrawy, 31, was born in Cairo, Egypt, and trains out of Soma Fight Club. His path to PFL New York has been anything but a straight line. He started his career fighting as far back as 2017, picking up wins while still operating in relative obscurity. By the early 2020s, he had gone on a four-fight losing skid, a stretch that would have ended most careers. The turnaround started with a decision to leave Egypt and relocate to Bali, Indonesia, where he committed to training full time. He reopened his account in July 2023 with a unanimous decision over Australian Campbell Symes at Bali MMA’s Canggu Fight Night, then stopped Jovidon Khojaev and Lhar Ocampo in back-to-back fights at the same promotion. The finishes came with a message: El-Dafrawy was not the same fighter anymore.
PFL Contract and MENA Title
A first-round knockout over Kuwait’s Abdulla Al-Bousheiri in January 2024 served as his calling card, the performance that earned him a PFL contract. He described the win as a defining moment, one that let him rebuild confidence after the setbacks of the losing run. He entered the 2024 PFL MENA welterweight tournament and went through it without a loss, beating Anthony Zeidan by decision, stopping Jarrah Al-Silawi by first-round TKO and finishing Mohammad Al-Aqraa by second-round TKO to claim the 2024 PFL MENA Welterweight Championship. It was Al-Aqraa’s first professional loss.
Fighting Style and Recent Performance
El-Dafrawy is a former national Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion in both Gi and No-Gi, and 11 of his 16 career wins have come by stoppage, with nine knockouts leading the count. Most recently, he appeared on the PFL Chicago card in April 2026 and put away James Vake with a left cross in the first round, stopping the fight at one minute, 12 seconds. He told interviewers afterward that his career began in an outdoor football stadium in Cairo and that he wants his record to speak for itself.
Martinez's Profile
Martinez, 32, was born in Darwin, Northern Territory, and fights out of Buderim, Queensland, under Team Compton Training Center with coaches Steve Compton and Ryan Doyle. He began taking MMA seriously in 2011 and turned professional in 2018. Martinez made his PFL debut at PFL Belfast in April 2026, defeating Greece’s Giannis Bachar by rear-naked choke submission in round two at 53 seconds. He goes into New York at 17-6.
Fight Dynamics
Both men are finishers operating at welterweight, and both carry momentum into July 31. El-Dafrawy lands the bulk of his wins with punches and brings a boxing-focused style that he has continued to sharpen through camps in Bali and Cairo. Martinez is a pressure fighter who smothers opponents with top control and has developed his striking considerably under Team Compton. For El-Dafrawy, the bout is another step in a journey that has taken him from losing fights in Cairo to competing in front of a New York crowd. For Martinez, it is a chance to build on a PFL debut that took all of 53 seconds to make an impression.
