In a historic first, both the RIZIN Fighting Federation and Professional Fighters League featherweight titles will be on the line this September — in a single fight.
Announced by PFL CEO John Martin on Monday, AJ McKee (25-2) will face RIZIN champ Razhabali Shaydullaev (18-0) on September 10, 2026, with both Shaydullaev’s RIZIN title, and the vacant PFL strap on the line.
The fight will be part of Super RIZIN 5 at the Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka, Japan. In his announcement on Monday, Martin called the fight “the best of the PFL versus the best of RIZIN, with the goal of determining who the best featherweight in the world really is.”
While Kyoji Horiguchi previously claimed bantamweight gold in both Bellator MMA and RIZIN, he did not win or defend both his titles simultaneously. Whoever wins between Shaydullaev and McKee come September will be representing both promotions moving forward.
McKee is a former Bellator MMA featherweight champ who has won his last three fights. Most recently, he cruised to a unanimous decision over Salamat Isbulaev.
Kyrgyzstan’s Shaydullaev, meanwhile, has defended his RIZIN title three times since capturing it from Kleber Koike in May 2025. Since then, he’s defeated Viktor Kolesnik, Mikuru Asakura, and Yuta Kubo.
RIZIN in particular has been seen working with multiple promotions, with BKFC partnering with the Japanese company, along with crossovers with the PFL. They’ve also opened the door for RIZIN talent to head to the UFC, with Kai Asakura and Kyoji Horiguchi moving there in the past year or so.
Previously, RIZIN hosted crossover events with Bellator.
