Overview
- PFL’s inaugural pound-for-pound list places Usman Nurmagomedov at No. 1 as Islam Makhachev holds the UFC’s top spot from the same camp.
- Usman will defend his PFL lightweight title against 2025 tournament winner Alfie Davis on Saturday at Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena.
- Khabib Nurmagomedov says the coaching goal with Javier Mendez is to develop Usman into the pound-for-pound best and potentially the greatest fighter ever.
- Khabib cites Usman’s two meetings with Paul Hughes as evidence of rapid growth, noting vulnerabilities shown in January were addressed in the October rematch.
- Seven Team Khabib fighters are slated to compete in Dubai, with Ramazan Kuramagomedov also defending his welterweight belt against Shamil Musaev.