Overview
- PFL and RIZIN confirmed on Monday that A.J. McKee will face Razhabali Shaidulloev as the Super RIZIN 5 main event on Sept. 10 at Kyocera Dome Osaka with Shaidulloev’s RIZIN title and the vacant PFL featherweight belt both at stake.
- The bout will follow RIZIN MMA rules of three five-minute rounds in a ring, which permit techniques such as soccer kicks, grounded knees to the head, and stomps and can change pacing and ground strategy.
- Shaidulloev enters unbeaten with a long run of early stoppages in RIZIN title fights while McKee is a former Bellator champion riding a multi-fight winning streak that earned him the PFL title shot.
- Promotional leaders John Martin and Nobuyuki Sakakibara publicly backed the matchup as a major cross-promotion event, and RIZIN announced a full Super RIZIN 5 card that includes notable domestic stars on the undercard.
- The matchup builds on prior Bellator–RIZIN ties and PFL’s post-2023 acquisition moves, and it could reshape how promotions share talent by producing a fighter who holds belts for two major organizations.