Movlid Khaybulaev has been embroiled in controversy as of late, and an opponent that the now former PFL 2025 tournament champion faced during his run this year has spoken out. Khaybulaev tested positive for the banned substance recombinant erythropoietin, with this empirical evidence being gathered amid proceedings for his August championship win this Summer.
With how he ended off the 2025 PFL featherweight run, Khaybulaev was initially a two-time PFL champion, but now, with the failed USADA test, he has been stripped of his tournament title distinction. Khaybulaev was also stripped of the physical belt, as well as associated bonuses through his overall tournament effort.
Khaybulaev’s first fight this calendar year saw him defeat Jeremy Kennedy in April by way of a split decision inside the PFL Smart Cage. The Canadian combatant has offered his thoughts on these recent happenings, which will keep Movlid Khaybulaev out for a year, backdated to August 1st when the sample was collected. In a text message exchange with Dylan Bowker of MMA Canada, Kennedy said [via MMA Canada],
“Yeah, man and EPO of all things… if you look at our fight and how he was able to recover from being rocked multiple times and keep that pace, it’s frustrating knowing I was fighting at a disadvantage. With the stakes being so high and the difference of what winning that fight would have done financially, and this not being the first time competing against a cheat. I think there needs to be a stricter punishments for stuff like that. Just a year suspension is pretty crazy.”
“One of the first things I said after that fight as a take away was how well he recovered from being hurt, and how he was able to maintain his gas tank. Both things EPO helps tremendously with.”
Movlid Khaybulaev also receives pushback from a fighter he beat in his first-ever pFL tournament title win
Movlid Khaybulaev also drew the ire of a prolific PFL name based out of the UK that shares in-cage history with the now disgraced former 2025 champ. Khaybulaev’s initial PFL featherweight championship win came in 2021, and on that path, he bested Brendan Loughnane in the semi-finals with two verdicts in his favour from the three assigned fight judges.
On his official X account, sounding off on this recent PED failure from the 35-year-old Russian, Loughnane stated,
“This fight literally cost me millions of dollars. Lost a split decision to a known cheater. Sport is wild.”
The official statement on this matter from the Professional Fighters League was put out on their official X account and can be seen below.
