Movlid Khaybulaev Suspended for Doping and Disqualified from the PFL 2025 Tournament
The 2025 PFL featherweight champion, Movlid Khaybulaev, has been suspended for one year after testing positive for a banned substance, the organization itself announced on Wednesday.
Khaybulaev, who was also crowned champion in 2021, defeated Jesus Pinedo by submission in the fifth round in the final of the tournament on August 1. However, his sample taken during the competition revealed the presence of recombinant erythropoietin, a banned substance, on the same day of his victory at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The suspension will be applied retroactively to the date of the positive test.
Although the PFL and USADA recently ended their anti-doping relationship, the test was conducted in the last days of their collaboration. Currently, the PFL works with the Mohegan Sun Tribe Athletic Regulation Department to oversee its drug testing program.
According to PFL rules and regulations, Khaybulaev has been disqualified from the 2025 PFL World Championship.
As a result of the disqualification, Khaybulaev loses the title of champion of the PFL 2025 featherweight tournament, the championship belt, and all associated prizes.
