PFL Rankings Expand and Shift After McKee Beats Isbulaev in San Diego
A.J. McKee swept Salamat Isbulaev by unanimous decision at Pechanga Arena San Diego on June 27, and the PFL rankings update published Tuesday reflects the aftershocks across multiple divisions. The cards read 30-27 across all three judges — a clean sweep that handed Isbulaev his first professional loss and moved McKee directly into the featherweight title picture.
This was a wide-scale update. Thirty fighters received rankings for the first time as the PFL formally published or expanded their divisional top 10s. Combined with the movers from fighters who already held spots, Tuesday's update marks one of the most active rankings publications in the organization's recent history.
Biggest Movers
| Fighter | Division | Old Rank | New Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Habirora | Welterweight | #8 | #5 | +3 |
| Mitchell McKee | Bantamweight | #4 | #2 | +2 |
| Raufeon Stots | Bantamweight | #3 | #5 | -2 |
| Asaël Adjoudj | Featherweight | #9 | #7 | +2 |
| Boris Mbarga Atangana | Middleweight | #7 | #5 | +2 |
| Thad Jean | Welterweight | #5 | #3 | +2 |
| Salamat Isbulaev | Featherweight | #5 | #4 | +1 |
| Taylor Lapilus | Bantamweight | #5 | #4 | +1 |
McKee Enters Featherweight at Number Two
A.J. McKee's win over Isbulaev was the defining result from the San Diego card. McKee controlled all three rounds, working the jab, managing distance, and using the clinch to negate Isbulaev's pressure. The 30-27 scorecards were not close. He enters the featherweight rankings at number two directly behind Timur Khizriev, who enters at number one as a new entry in the same update.
Khizriev and McKee now sit above the rest of the field at PFL featherweight. A fight between them would resolve the number-one contender question cleanly.
Isbulaev, despite taking his first professional loss, moved up one position to fourth. Losing a clear decision to the incoming number-two contender does not cost him his spot in the committee's view. He remains one of the top names at featherweight.
Bantamweight: McKee Up, Stots Down
Mitchell McKee climbs from fourth to second in bantamweight, a jump of two places. Raufeon Stots drops from third to fifth, a fall of two. The moves suggest the committee has upgraded its view of McKee's standing and downgraded Stots's relative to the current field.
The biggest headline in bantamweight is the entry of Sergio Pettis at number one. Pettis, the former Bellator bantamweight champion, appears in PFL's rankings for the first time at the top of the division. His entry at one, above McKee at two and Renat Khavalov at three, positions him as the leading contender in the weight class.
Welterweight: Habirora Makes the Biggest Jump
Patrick Habirora's three-place climb from eighth to fifth is the largest single movement in Tuesday's update. Habirora had been sitting in the lower half of the welterweight top 10. Moving to fifth puts him in direct contention for a ranked matchup and in range of a potential top-three fight.
Thad Jean also moved two places in welterweight, from fifth to third. His climb to third, combined with Habirora's rise, makes welterweight one of the more active divisions in Tuesday's update. Shamil Musaev, a new entry at number one, sits at the top of the weight class.
Women's Flyweight: Division Published for the First Time
The PFL women's flyweight division received its first formal rankings in Tuesday's update. Dakota Ditcheva leads at number one. Liz Carmouche enters at number two after her submission win over Viviane Araújo at the San Diego card, where she finished Araújo with a guillotine choke in the second round. Taila Santos rounds out the top three.
Carmouche's immediate entry at number two, directly after a finishing performance on the same card, makes her the most obvious next challenger for Ditcheva in the new division.
Pound for Pound: Nurmagomedov Tops the List
The PFL pound-for-pound rankings also published for the first time in this update. Usman Nurmagomedov sits at number one. The undefeated PFL lightweight champion is followed by PFL light heavyweight champion Corey Anderson at two and PFL heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov at three.
What's Next
The San Diego card produced a clear featherweight picture: McKee at two and Khizriev at one, with both as new entries, means their matchup has not happened yet. That fight would logically serve as the number-one contender bout in the division.
In bantamweight, Pettis entering at one sets him up against Mitchell McKee at two as the next logical fight in the weight class. In welterweight, Habirora's jump to fifth and Jean's move to third creates two natural pairings for the top of the division.
The San Diego card did the work. Tuesday's rankings confirmed what the results said.