The PFL is back in action on Saturday and there will be a pair of fights that are expected to push the promotion forward at a crucial time.
At the top of the card, lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov will look to avenge his old teammate’s loss to 2025 World Tournament champion Alfie Davis. There are many questions surrounding Nurmagomedov, who is looking to build on his two victories over Irish sensation Paul Hughes. Once one of Bellator’s top talents, Nurmagomedov has now emerged as a top prospect who could become one of the most sought-after free agents on the market if he were to keep his undefeated record intact for the remaining few fights on his contract.
The final showdown before everything happens in Dubai tomorrow!
PFL Lightweight World Champion Usman Nurmagomedov clashes with 2025 PFL World Tournament Lightweight Champion @AlfieRDavis #RoadToDubai | Saturday February 7 | Dubai, UAE | Preliminaries 9am EST | Main card 12pm EST… pic.twitter.com/V296YG6UDi
— PFL (@PFLMMA) February 6, 2026
Standing in his way is Davis, who scored the victory of his career by completing the World Tournament last fall and reigning supreme. In the final he defeated the defending champion and Nurmagomedov’s teammate from the Abdoulmanap Nurmagomedov School in Dagestan: Gadzhi Rabadanov. But as he now finds himself in a more personal battle with the PFL’s first undisputed lightweight champion, he must show that it was no coincidence that he got to this point.
The co-main event will finally see a pair of welterweights return to the cage with the chance to reintroduce themselves to the public and set up a high-profile fight later this year. In June 2024, Ramazan Kuramagomedov defeated former Bellator champion Jason Jackson to claim the renamed Bellator Champions Series title. In November of the same year, Shamil Musaev won the Welterweight Grand Prix, becoming the promotion’s second titleholder in the weight class. Neither man competed under any of the PFL’s brands in 2025, leading to questions about when the two would return. The matchup will test the more experienced Musaev against the slightly younger Kuramagomedov in a fight that will see two of the more well-rounded talents the promotion has to offer.
But that’s just the first step. The winner will undoubtedly welcome 2025 World Tournament winner Thad Jean sometime later this year. Jean was one of the most visible athletes on the roster during his run and the expectation is that his return fight in 2026 will be one of the bigger fights for the company. Considering the championship experience behind both Musaev and Kuramagomedov, the fight with Jean will showcase some of the best elite talent the company has been able to field in recent years.
If there’s one area where the PFL excels, it’s finding talent that might not otherwise get the same opportunities in other promotions. On Saturday, two of Nurmagomedov’s teammates from the Abdoulmanap School will be in action during the preliminaries. First up is undefeated former Eagle FC bantamweight champion Renat Khavalov, who meets Karate Combat veteran Edgars Skrivers in early action. The other fighter is another undefeated fighter in former UAE lightweight champion Amru Magomedov, who meets Kolton Englund in the evening’s featured preliminary round.
About the two, coach and UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov said: “I don’t see many people in the world who can beat them…Maybe I can say that one, two, maybe three guys can give them a hard time, because I’ve been in this sport for so many years in general. I was in professional sports since I was a kid, and even when I wasn’t competing, I saw so many champions, and these two guys, I don’t think many people can even give them a hard time.” (h/t Rode Hoek MMA)
While not many announcements have been made for the second quarter of the year, it is understandable that the PFL wants Saturday’s event in Dubai to set the tone for the promotion as they head towards their next major event in March and throughout the rest of the year.
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