5 Things You Might Not Know About Moktar Benkaci

Moktar Benkaci has started to stretch his legs in the Professional Fighters League.

The well-traveled and seasoned 32-year-old will look to move one step closer to a six-figure payday when he faces Nawras Abzakh when their bantamweight semifinal buoys 2025 PFL MENA 3 on Saturday at the Arena Riyadh in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Benkaci has rattled off five straight victories, all of them via stoppage. He last saw action at 2025 PFL MENA 2, where he needed just 57 seconds to punch Marce Adur into submission in their brief 135-pound quarterfinal. It was the 13th first-round finish of Benkaci’s career.

As Benakci approaches his high-stakes semifinal with Abzakh in the Middle East, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He did not rise out of a martial arts hotbed.

Benkaci was born on July 8, 1993 in Bordj Menaiel—a city of some 65,000 people in northern Algeria, not far from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

2. No obvious concerns exist regarding his readiness.

“Le Kabyle” represents the London Shootfighters camp, where he has sharpened his skills alongside a number of well-regarded stablemates, from Michael Page, Karlos Vemola and Norbert Novenyi Jr. to Alfie Davis, Farid Basharat and Przemyslaw Mysiala. Benkaci has also trained with Team Thai Boxing Istres and the Bulgarian Top Team.

3. He has shown leader-of-the-pack qualities.

Benkaci laid claim to the Kabuto Fight Club bantamweight championship with a unanimous decision over Mickael Kanguichiev on June 11, 2016. He went on to compete in the M-1 Global, Octogone, Eagles Fighting Championship, World Warriors Fighting Championship, I Am Fighter organizations before he made his PFL debut in 2022.

4. Living out of a suitcase has not been an issue.

Benkaci has fought in 12 different countries during his 36-fight career. France, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, England, Russia, Moldova, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Wales, Germany and Saudi Arabia comprise the list.

5. He combines explosivity with durability.

The 5-foot-6 bantamweight has nailed down 21 of his 25 professional victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. Benkaci boasts three sub-minute finishes on his resume, highlighted by his 20-second TKO of Benjamin Molnar under the Alpha Fight Championship banner in June 2024. Meanwhile, he has never been stopped, as all nine of his losses have come by decision.