AJ McKee, ranked #2 in the lightweight division with a 24-2 record, will face Salamat Isbulaev, ranked #6 with a perfect 10-0 record, on June 27 in San Diego. The matchmaking has raised questions about PFL's approach to Isbulaev's career trajectory. In his PFL debut, Isbulaev knocked out #3-ranked Jesus Pinedo in the first round but only moved to #6 in the rankings. Now he faces former Bellator champion McKee, one of PFL's strongest fighters, without receiving easier warm-up fights. The author notes this represents an extremely challenging path to the title for Isbulaev, though interesting to watch, and questions why he remains ranked #6 rather than #3 after his debut victory.
AJ McKee and Salamat Isbulaev are set to collide on June 27 in San Diego, with PFL booking its second-ranked lightweight against the undefeated Kazakh prospect in what shapes up as one of the more intriguing matchups on the card.
McKee, known as "Mercenary," enters the fight ranked second in the PFL lightweight division carrying a 8-0-0 record under the PFL banner. The 178 cm fighter is a former Bellator champion whose grappling output stands out even among elite competition, averaging more than eleven takedowns and eleven submission attempts per fifteen minutes. His striking volume sits at 2.75 significant strikes landed per minute, a number that understates how dangerous he becomes once the fight hits the mat.
Isbulaev arrives with a perfect 9-0-0 record and is currently slotted sixth in the divisional rankings despite an emphatic first-round knockout of Jesus Pinedo in his PFL debut. The 29-year-old from Kazakhstan stands five-foot-seven with a 69-inch reach. That win over Pinedo, who carries a 25-6-1 career record, was a significant scalp — Pinedo is ranked third in the division — yet the rankings movement Isbulaev received afterward was limited, leaving him three spots below the man he finished.
Why it matters
- Isbulaev's jump straight to a top-two opponent, without interim matchups, puts enormous pressure on a fighter who has only one PFL fight on his resume.
- A win for Isbulaev would almost certainly force a rankings overhaul in a division where the gap between sixth and second has rarely looked this bridgeable on paper.
- McKee's elite grappling against Isbulaev's 50 percent striking accuracy sets up a genuine stylistic puzzle, with the Kazakh needing to manage distance to keep the fight standing.
- The matchmaking raises broader questions about how PFL is managing Isbulaev's development and whether his ranking reflects his actual performance level.
