Razhabali Shaydullaev Record, stats and next fight

Analysis

Razhabali Shaydullaev enters PFL undefeated in 20 fights, after ruling RIZIN’s featherweight division for more than a year. The 25-year-old Kyrgyz fighter signed with Most Valuable Promotions, which now operates PFL, after beating AJ McKee to become the league’s first featherweight champion.

Career

Razhabali Shaydullaev was born on October 11, 2000 in the village of Jerge-Tal, Lakhsh district, near the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. He is based in Bishkek and trains with the Ihlas MMA team. His technical base combines judo, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and combat jiu-jitsu, a discipline in which he is described as an Asian champion.

He made his professional MMA debut in June 2019 under the Batyr Bashy banner in Kyrgyzstan, where he strung together quick submissions against regional opponents, including Samat Kylychbek Uulu, Manas Kurstanbekov and Temurlan Arestanov. In August 2020, he won the vacant PFL Kyrgyzstan featherweight title by submitting Timur Zhoroev with a triangle choke. After a win in October 2021 against Abdullah Saidov, he moved down to bantamweight for the Russian promotion ACA, where he strung together three submissions in 2022 and won the GAMMA featherweight title.

In 2023, he went to fight in Asia, with a win in June at Road FC 64 against Ji Yong Yang, then a submission in October at UAE Warriors 45 against Magomed Al-Abdullah. A scheduled bout against Martin Nguyen under the ONE Championship banner in February 2023 was called off after he withdrew, for unspecified reasons.

RIZIN Fighting Federation

Shaydullaev joined RIZIN in June 2024 and submitted Koji Takeda in his first fight, at Rizin 47. He followed up in September with an armbar win over former Bellator champion Juan Archuleta at Rizin 48, then beat Yuta Kubo by TKO on December 31, 2024.

He became RIZIN featherweight champion in May 2025 by knocking out Kleber Koike Erbst at Otoko Matsuri. He then defended his belt four times: a 33-second TKO against Viktor Kolesnik at Rizin 51 in September 2025, a first-round TKO against Mikuru Asakura, older brother of Kai Asakura, on December 31, 2025, then a TKO against Yuta Kubo in April 2026 at Rizin Landmark 13. His latest known defense, on September 10, 2026 at Super Rizin 5, pitted him against former Bellator champion AJ McKee. Shaydullaev won by unanimous decision after three rounds, his first fight to go the distance in twenty outings. Under the agreement between RIZIN and PFL, this win earned him the inaugural PFL featherweight title.

Professional Fighters League

In the wake of his win over McKee, Shaydullaev signed a two-year deal in September 2026 with Most Valuable Promotions, Jake Paul’s company, which has taken over operation of PFL. The deal, revealed by Ariel Helwani, is set to begin in 2027 and makes him the first fighter signed to the MVP banner in MMA. He also keeps his RIZIN title, which he is due to defend on December 31, 2026 against Kyoma Akimoto. In April 2026, UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko had publicly called on the UFC to sign Shaydullaev, then undefeated in 19 fights, with no reported negotiations since.

Fighting style

Shaydullaev builds his record on a large majority of submissions, twelve of his twenty wins, mostly by rear-naked choke and triangle choke. His background in judo and wrestling lets him impose the ground game from the opening exchanges, often in the first round. Since moving to RIZIN, he has also shown an ability to finish on the feet, with four of his last five fights ending by KO or TKO in the first round. His decision win over AJ McKee marked the first time an opponent went the distance with him in twenty professional outings.

Record

• Professional record: 20 wins, 0 losses, 0 draws
• Wins by KO/TKO: 7
• Wins by submission: 12
• Wins by decision: 1
• RIZIN featherweight champion (since May 2025, four defenses)
• Inaugural PFL featherweight champion (since September 2026)
• Former PFL Kyrgyzstan featherweight champion (2020)
• Former GAMMA featherweight champion (2022)

Fighter profile

• Full name: Rajabali (Razhabali) Shaidullaev
• Nickname: not provided
• Born: October 11, 2000, village of Jerge-Tal, Lakhsh district (Kyrgyzstan)
• Nationality: Kyrgyz
• Height: 5’7″ (170 cm)
• Reach: not provided
• Division: featherweight (145 lbs / 66 kg)
• Team: Ihlas MMA, Bishkek
• Coach: not provided
• Base: judo, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, combat jiu-jitsu

Sources

• en.wikipedia.org
• www.sherdog.com
• www.tapology.com
• cagesidepress.com
• agentmma.com
• en.wikipedia.org