Movlid Khaybulaev has been embroiled in controversy lately and an opponent the now former PFL 2025 tournament champion faced during his run this year has spoken out. Khaybulaev tested positive for the banned substance recombinant erythropoietin, with this empirical evidence collected during the procedure for his championship victory in August this summer.
With the way he ended the 2025 PFL featherweight run, Khaybulaev was initially a two-time PFL champion, but now, with the failed USADA test, he has been stripped of tournament title honors. Khaybulaev was also stripped of the physical belt, as well as its associated bonuses, for his overall tournament effort.
Khaybulaev’s first fight this calendar year saw him defeat Jeremy Kennedy via split decision inside the PFL Smart Cage in April. The Canadian fighter has given his thoughts on these recent events, which will keep Movlid Khaybulaev out for a year, backdated to August 1, when the sample was collected. In a text message with Dylan Bowker from MMA CanadaKennedy said [via MMA Canada],
“Yeah man and especially EPO… when you look at our fight and how he was able to bounce back from being shaken multiple times and maintain that pace, it’s frustrating to know that I was fighting at a disadvantage. Because the stakes were so high and the difference between what winning that fight would have done financially, and this wasn’t the first time he had to fight a cheat. I think there should be stiffer penalties for things like that. A ban of just a year is pretty crazy.”
“One of the first things I said after that fight was how well he was recovering from his injury and how he was able to maintain his gas tank, both things EPO helps a lot with.”
Movlid Khaybulaev also takes a setback from a fighter he defeated in his first-ever pFL tournament title win
Movlid Khaybulaev also drew the ire of a prolific PFL name from Great Britain who shares cage history with the now-disgraced former 2025 champion. Khaybulaev’s first PFL Featherweight Championship win came in 2021, and on that road he defeated Brendan Loughnane in the semifinals with two verdicts in his favor from the three assigned fight judges.
On his official X account, expanding on this recent PED failure from the 35-year-old Russian, Loughnane stated:
“This fight literally cost me millions of dollars. I lost a split decision to a known cheater. Sports are wild.”
The official statement on this matter from the Professional fighter competition was posted on their official X account and can be seen below.
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