Razhabali Shaidulloev Signs With MVP After Unifying RIZIN, PFL Titles

Razhabali Shaidulloev walked into Super RIZIN 5 in Osaka on Thursday with two belts on the line and walked out with both — plus a new home. The 25-year-old Tajikistani featherweight defended his RIZIN title and grabbed the vacant PFL crown by outpointing A.J. McKee over five rounds, then confirmed a two-year deal to join MVP's roster in 2027, becoming the first talent signed since MVP's merger with PFL.

That win pushed Shaidulloev to a spotless 19-0, with 18 of those coming by stoppage. The catch: McKee is the man who finally made him work for a full 25 minutes. It was the first decision of Shaidulloev's career, a data point worth sitting with given he'd finished all 18 opponents before this.

The RIZIN Run

Shaidulloev is 8-0 under the RIZIN banner, and the names on that ledger aren't padding. He's stopped Kleber Koike, Juan Archuleta and Mikuru Asakura along the way — a résumé that reads more like a highlight reel than a schedule. That kind of finish rate against real competition is exactly what a promotion building around a new name wants on the marquee.

The MVP move fits a bigger reshuffle. MVP merged with PFL and will operate under the MVP name from 2027, and Shaidulloev is the headline grab out of the gate. He agreed to a two-year deal to anchor the roster once the transition is complete.

One More in Japan

Before any of that, though, there's unfinished business. Shaidulloev will step into the RIZIN ring one last time on New Year's Eve, closing out his current contract with a title defense against Kyoma Akimoto. Akimoto punched his ticket by beating former champ Koike on the cards this past August.

The bigger picture around MVP is getting busier by the week. Jake Paul has floated interest in adding Michael Page — the 26-3 welterweight ranked #13 in the UFC — now that Page is out from under his UFC deal. And Henry Cejudo, himself 16-6 and coming off a decision loss to Payton Talbott, has argued the PFL can't survive without Usman Nurmagomedov. Amid all that noise, Shaidulloev is the one who actually put pen to paper.