Usman Nurmagomedov and Alfie Davis will headline the lightweight title fight in 2026
The 2026 PFL season will kick off with an exciting lightweight title fight between Usman Nurmagomedov and Alfie Davis, the organization announced on Thursday.
Nurmagomedov (20-0) will seek to defend his PFL title for the first time against Davis (20-5-1) on February 7 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.
Nurmagomedov, cousin of the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov, is a former Bellator MMA champion and this will be his third appearance under the PFL umbrella. He was crowned official lightweight champion of the promotion in October, winning the vacant belt in a fight against Paul Hughes.
PFL is renewing its identity for 2026, abandoning the season formats and direct elimination tournaments in favor of a more traditional MMA matchmaking system. Nurmagomedov is one of the key figures in the company and is considered one of the best fighters in the world outside of the UFC. He is currently ranked fifth in the lightweight rankings across all MMA promotions.
Davis, from England, won the PFL lightweight tournament this year, with victories over Clay Collard, Brent Primus, and Gadzhi Rabadanov. Rabadanov, whom Davis defeated in the 2025 lightweight final by unanimous decision, is, in fact, a close friend and teammate of Nurmagomedov’s team from Dagestan.
