PFL returns this Saturday night for event that takes place the same day as UFC Baku, giving us a loaded Saturday. I will be livestreaming a fight companion for this card on my channel if you wanted to tune in. PFL is broadcast at 07:00 PM ET on Saturday, on ESPN 2.

AJ MCKEE JR. (24-2) vs. SALAMAT ISBULAEV (10-0) – Featherweight

I like this fight a lot as it will tell us how good either fighter is at this point. AJ McKee is only 31 years old but it's hard to know if he is truly still in his prime as he has been bouncing between weight classes, and after a tough loss to Paul Hughes has returned to featherweight. He struggled to make featherweight in the past so it is interesting that he decided to come back. It has worked out for him for now, even if the performance over Borics was not impressive. McKee is a former Bellator champion, and is one of the most successful prospects they ever developed in the promotion. He is well-rounded with great striking (yet not a lot of power) as well as great wrestling and grappling. He takes on Isbulaev who could be the real deal, but it will take one more performance to truly move me. I did pick Jesus Pinedo to beat him in his PFL debut but that was due to Isbulaev being an untested and very undersized for the weight class. Isbulaev on the feet is very fast and explosive, but he gets his best work done on the ground. He is a strong wrestler with great control and ground and pound. Most of his wins come in the first round against a mix of good, and poor competition. This is a true test against McKee as he will once again be fighting a much larger opponent, but in this case a much more well-rounded one. I don't feel great about the pick but I am going to lean with McKee's experience and more proven striking. He should be able to keep the fight on the feet against the smaller Isbulaev and as long as he fights smart he should be able to land more volume, with more power. Another aspect about this fight is Isbulaev's untested cardio. I don't think he will gas badly if the fight exited the first round it's just that I haven't seen him tested in deep waters yet. McKee is a hard guy to trust in the big 2026 but this is a big opportunity for him to get another huge win.

Pick: AJ McKee Jr. by decision. Low confidence.

LIZ CARMOUCHE (25-8) vs. VIVIANE ARAUJO (14-7) – Women's Flyweight

There will be a time when we need to pick against Liz Carmouche as she is 42 years old now… but I have been saying that for years. Carmouche isn't getting any younger but she keeps winning and putting on solid performances at this weight class. She was a dominant champion for Bellator and has shown success against the competition the PFL has given her. This is a step up for Carmouche though as she takes on Araujo who was quite highly ranked in the UFC not too long ago. Carmouche has struggled with opponents taking her down in the past but I am not too sure if she needs to worry about that here. Araujo can grapple but she does usually choose to strike. I like that for Carmouche as she likes to use her own pressure to dirty box in the cage and wrestle herself. Araujo is also 39 too so it's not like Carmouche is being tested against a young up and comer. I expect Carmouche to grind out a somewhat close decision based on some control and pressure.

Pick: Liz Carmouche by decision. Medium confidence.

ALEXANDER SHABILY (24-4) vs. ALFIE DAVIS (20-6-1) – Lightweight

I like Shabily in this fight quite a bit, I am just a little reserved as he has not fought since 2024. Sahbily last fought against the undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov in what was a fight that he actually was the one shooting for take downs. Shabily can be a technical striker from range but given the gameplan against Usman who fights with a lot of kicks similar to Davis, I think he will wrestle here. Davis is the most recent lightweight tournament champion but he has his flaws. He is a strong kickboxer but he has always struggled against pressuring fighters and his take down defense isn't fantastic. On the feet he isn't super dangerous but he can catch lesser strikers off guard. Maybe Shabily comes out rusty but as long as he is the one moving forward he should be able to cruise.

Pick: Alexander Shabily by decision. Medium confidence.

ABRAHAM BABLY (8-2) vs. ROB WILKINSON (19-5) – Light Heavyweight

Abraham Bably is a 5'10” former heavyweight who is now moving down. He is a good boxer with decent power, as well as solid enough wrestling. He has been able to make up for his smaller size at heavyweight by pressuring larger opponents and finding success in the pocket. He fights Rob Wilkinson who won the tournament in 2022. He is a 6'3″ kickboxer who finds most of his success from range so this should be an intriguing striking match up. The issue I have is that Rob Wilkinson has looked absolutely terrible since USADA popped him for TRT in 2023. He has won a couple fights but now finds himself on a losing streak in performances that have become worse and worse. He has been finished multiple times now so his chin without the unlimited cardio TRT gave him has come into question, and I think it will be tested here. Bably should be able to pressure him and land on that chin early given how badly Wilkinson has regressed since he hopped off the banned substances.

Pick: Abraham Bably by KO/TKO. Medium confidence.

KHASAN MAGOMEDSHARIPOV (10-0) vs. JOSHUA WEEMS (14-6) – Featherweight

Like Shabily, we haven't seen Khasan fight under the PFL banner yet. Bellator clearly viewed him as a potential star and gave him the slow build, and it seems like the PFL wants to continue that as well. Khasan does fight a little bit like his brother Zabit but with a lot less spinning attacks and a bit more wrestling. He is pretty good but he hasn't shown a great finishing ability yet. Joshua Weems is a fun fighter who has fought for the UFC once before but he is more of an entertainer than anything. He is a grappler but he can box effectively and in theory could present a couple problems to Khasan given his finishing ability on the feet and on the ground. I won't pretend like I am super confident in Khasan but this is a clear lay up, just once again a long lay off that is concerning me.

Pick: Khasan Magomedhsaripov by KO/TKO. Medium-high confidence.

ARIANE DA SILVA (18-11) vs. JENA BISHOP (10-3) – Women's Flyweight

This should be a pretty fun fight as I think it would result in a finish either way. Ariane is clearly the better striker out of the two as Bishop just throws hands without any real defense in mind. It does work though as she is big for the weight class and lands with decent power. She had a professional BJJ abckground before she come over to MMA and so far has found a decent amount of success. She is 40 years old now so I am not sure how long she will be doing this for but it has been a pretty fun run. Against Da Silva I am pretty confident she will be able to get the takedowns and from there she is very effective on top. She should be much bigger too so I don't think Da Silva will be able to get up, giving Bishop plenty of time to hunt for a finish.

Pick: Jena Bishop by submission. Low-medium confidence.

JUSTIN WETZELL (12-3) vs. SAVARJON KHAMIDOV (16-1) – Bantamweight

This is an interesting match up as Justin Wetzell managed to beat Kasum Kasumov by defending his take downs and beating him on the feet. He will try to do the same with Khamidov, but to less success. Khamidov isn't big for the weight class but he is much more skilled than Kasumov everywhere. Wetzell is a good fighter be he is not very fast. I just think Khamidov wrestles to a decision.

Pick: Savarjon Khamidov by decision. Medium-high confidence.

GAMID KHIZRIEV (4-0) vs. LORENZE PARENTE (4-0) – Lightweight

I am not convinced Parente will stop the take downs.

Pick: Gamid Khizriev by KO/TKO. Medium-high confidence.

SHANNON CLARK (7-1) vs. ILARA JOANE (13-10) – Women's Flyweight

Clark sucks at striking but she is so much bigger than Joane. I honestly think she may get a finish even though she is super boring.

Pick: Shannon Clark by submission. High confidence.

COBEY FEHR (3-0) vs. DANIEL BZDIGIAN (0-0) – Bantamweight

Hard to be confident in someone I haven't seen before.

Pick: Cobey Fehr by submission. Medium confidence.