Wins on April 3 via split decision over Jeremy Kennedy and on June 12 via unanimous decision against Tae Kyun Kim gave way to an August 1 date at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City for the PFL Featherweight Championship against Jesus Pinedo.
Five rounds (or less) of action was all that stood between Movlid Khaybulaev and the championship title. Fight night ended victorious for the champion, but in the end everything came crashing down.
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Movlid Khaybulaev tests positive on the day of PFL Atlantic City
It was recently revealed that Khaybulaev returned a positive drug test for recombinant erythropoietin, a performance enhancer. This drug test was recorded on the same day that PFL Atlantic City took place at Boardwalk Hall.
As a result of the positive test, Movlid Khaybulaev has been given a one-year ban from fighting. This ban applies retroactively to the day of the positive test. The fight itself was initially ruled as one victory in the fifth round via an arm-triangle choke against Jesus Pinedo.
Considering that PFL Atlantic City was under the supervision of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, there is no word as of Wednesday afternoon on whether the state will impose any form of further discipline on Khaybulaev, but now the PFL itself has expressed its opinion on the positive drug test.
PFL strips Movlid Khaybulaev of 2025 featherweight title after findings become public
Early Wednesday evening, the PFL announced via social media that Movlid Khaybulaev is now no longer the 2025 Featherweight Champion, following his positive drug test on the day of PFL Atlantic City.
“The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has been notified by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that athlete Movlid Khaybulaev tested positive for a controlled substance during his fight at the 2025 PFL World Tournament Finals, held on August 1 in Atlantic City,” the promotion’s statement said. “In accordance with the rules and regulations of the PFL, Khaybulaev has been disqualified from the 2025 PFL World Tournament.”
“As a result of the disqualification under PFL rules, Khaybulaev forfeits the distinction of 2025 PFL Tournament Featherweight Champion, the championship title and all associated bonus prizes,” the statement concluded.
Movlid Khaybulaev’s belt forfeiture had to happen
In the wake of Khaybulaev being stripped of the PFL Featherweight Tournament Championship this year, an old saying comes to mind: “Cheaters never prosper.” While Khaybulaev won the featherweight championship in 2021 without any doubt or controversy, his championship run in 2025 may ultimately result in an asterisk.
Asterisks occur all the time in athletics, ranging from team competitive events to martial arts. There were a number of debates in sports earlier this decade over whether or not an asterisk should have been attached to the professional leagues over the fact that the season took place against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the schedule was shortened or adjusted due to pandemic restrictions.
Although Khaybulaev initially went a perfect 3-0 in this year’s PFL tournament, these recent developments, coupled with the promotion that stripped him of the championship, have cast a black eye on events at 145 over the past year. In the grand scheme of things, the PFL made the best, right, and only call here.
With a tournament format like that of the PFL in 2025, one wrong move means the end of the line for any fighter. Just in the first two weeks of the quarterfinals of the tournament in Orlando last spring, we saw fighters eliminated from contention due to weight loss.
Final thoughts
The gist of the story in Movlid Khaybulaev’s case is simple: even though he took a positive drug test during the match and has accepted the suspension resulting from the test, it doesn’t change much about what he did. Now he’s paying the price.
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