The PFL Washington D.C. card on Saturday has taken a major hit.
Shamil Musaev has been forced off the card at the last minute after he was scheduled to face Thad Jean in a welterweight title fight in the main event.
PFL officials confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Thursday following an initial report from MMAJunkie.
PFL CEO John Martin announced that Musaev was having weight cutting issues and now he’s off the card with 11-1 welterweight prospect Ernesto Rodriguez stepping into the main event after he was originally scheduled to compete on Saturday’s undercard.
Rodriguez faces Jean with the welterweight title going up for grabs.
The fight serves as Jean’s latest opportunity to continue his undefeated run in the PFL after he put on an incredibly impressive performance winning the 2025 welterweight tournament. The 11-0 fighter seeks to add the PFL welterweight title to his resume with a win on Saturday.
Of course it’s tough news for the PFL but not the first title bout to fall apart during fight week. In the UFC, Islam Makhachev was scheduled to defend his lightweight title back in 2025 but an injury to Arman Tsarukyan forced a last second change to Renato Moicano. Makhachev’s coach and friend Khabib Nurmagomedov also dealt with a similar last second change when he was supposed to fight Tony Ferguson and ended taking on Al Iaquinta on short notice instead.
The PFL Washington D.C. main card kicks off on Saturday night at 10 p.m. ET with Jean vs. Rodriguez now headlining the event.
