A.J. McKee and Razhabali Shaydullaev are set to meet on Sept. 10 in Japan in a high-stakes showdown with both the PFL and RIZIN featherweight titles on the line.
PFL CEO John Martin announced that McKee will face Shaydullaev at 145 pounds, with the winner becoming the first simultaneous PFL and RIZIN featherweight champion. McKee enters the bout with a 25-2 professional record, while Shaydullaev is 19-0 and holds the RIZIN featherweight title, boasting a 100 percent finishing rate in 19 career fights.
"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. "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 champion, is 3-0 in his recent return to featherweight, with unanimous decision wins over Akhmed Magomedov, Adam Borics, and Salamat Isbulaev, the last on June 27 at PFL San Diego.
RIZIN previously worked with Scott Coker and Bellator to cross-promote title fights, including Kyoji Horiguchi holding both promotions' bantamweight titles in 2019, and PFL has maintained a relationship with RIZIN since acquiring Bellator in November 2023.
