A.J. McKee will have the opportunity to do something that nobody has done before.
PFL CEO John Martin announced Monday that McKee (25-2) will take on undefeated RIZIN featherweight champion Razhabali Shaydullaev (19-0) at an event Sept. 10 in Japan, with the winner set to become the first simultaneous PFL and RIZIN champ at 145 pounds as both titles will be on the line.
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“When I became CEO, I said we’re gonna build partnerships, bring the best fighters together, and make the fights that fans want to see,” Martin said in a video posted on X. “This is exactly what this looks like: the best of the PFL vs. the best of RIZIN, with the goal of determining who the best featherweight in the world really is.”
McKee, a former Bellator featherweight champ, is 3-0 in his return to 145 pounds after a detour competing at lightweight. McKee’s three most recent wins in the division have all been by unanimous decision against Akhmed Magomedov, Adam Borics, and previously unbeaten Salamat Isbulaev on June 27 at PFL San Diego.
Shaydullaev, who hails from Kyrgyzstan, has a 100 percent finishing rate in 19 career fights. He became RIZIN’s featherweight champion in May 2025 and has defended his title three times since.
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Prior to its relationship with PFL, RIZIN worked with Scott Coker and Bellator to cross-promote title fights, with Kyoji Horiguchi in 2019 holding both promotions’ bantamweight titles. Since acquiring Bellator in November 2023, the PFL has maintained a relationship with RIZIN.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: A.J. McKee books PFL vs. RIZIN champ-champ fight
