Al-Qahtani vs Rao

Who won Al-Qahtani vs Rao?

Abdullah Al-Qahtani beat Edukondala Rao by knockout in the 3rd round during the prelims of PFL vs. Bellator, on Saturday 24th February 2024 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Featherweight division, which meant the weight limit was 145 pounds (10.4 stone or 65.8 KG).

Al-Qahtani vs Rao stats

Abdullah Al-Qahtani stepped into the octagon with a record of 7 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 1 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 1 by submission.

Edukondala Rao made his way to the cage with a record of 5 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 1 of those win coming by knock out and 4 by submission.

This was Abdullah Al-Qahtani's 6th fight in the PFL, having made his debut for the promotion in 2023.

Abdullah Al-Qahtani's PFL record stood at 5-1-0, while Edukondala Rao's came in at 0-1-0.

The stats suggested Rao had a slight advantage in power over Al-Qahtani, with a 20% knock out percentage over Al-Qahtani's 14%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Rao had a massive advantage over Al-Qahtani, boasting a 80% submission rate over Al-Qahtani's 14%.

Abdullah Al-Qahtani was the younger man by 6 years, at 26 years old.

Al-Qahtani was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 2 more fights, and made his debut in 2018, 2 years and 8 months earlier than Rao, whose first professional fight was in 2020. He had fought 16 more professional rounds, 31 to Rao's 15.

Al-Qahtani vs Rao form

Al-Qahtani had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 3 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Maraoune Bellagouit at PFL 2024 Championships on 29th November 2024 by knockout in the 1st round at The Mayadeen, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Previous to that, he had lost to Abdalrahman Alhyasat at PFL MENA 3: Playoffs on 20th September 2024 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at PFL MENA Studio, Boulevard City.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Yazeed Hasanain at PFL MENA 1: Riyadh on 10th May 2024 by knockout in the 2nd round at N/A, Riyadh.

Before that, he had defeated Edukondala Rao at PFL vs. Bellator: CHAMPS on 24th February 2024 by knockout in the 3rd round at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh.

He was victorious against David Zelner at 2023 PFL Playoffs: Welterweights & Lightweights on 23rd August 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York, United States.

Activity check

Al-Qahtani's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 9 months and 28 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 4 months and 13 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Al-Qahtani vs Rao?

Abdullah Al-Qahtani was a 1/18 (-1700) favourite going into the contest, while Edukondala Rao made his way into the ring at 8/1 (+800) with oddsmakers.