A.J. McKee dominates Isbulaev, Carmouche submits Araujo at PFL

A.J. McKee dragged undefeated Kazakh prospect Salamat Isbulaev into deep water and drowned him over three rounds Saturday night. The former Bellator featherweight champion won a unanimous decision in the PFL San Diego headliner at Pechanga Arena, handing Isbulaev his first career defeat and improving to 3-0 since dropping back to 145 pounds.

McKee controlled the fight with his grappling, scoring takedowns in all three rounds and scrambling to dominant positions against an opponent who had never seen a third round. The 31-year-old cut Isbulaev near the eye with an elbow late in the second, then closed the show with ground-and-pound from full mount in the final frame. According to Sherdog, McKee is now 25-2 overall and 4-1 under the PFL banner.

Carmouche chokes out Araujo in co-main event

Liz Carmouche made her case for a vacant flyweight title shot by submitting Viviane Araujo with a guillotine choke 2:07 into the second round. The 42-year-old former PFL champion jumped guard after Araujo shot for a takedown, locked in the choke, and forced a tap within seconds. It was Araujo's first submission loss as a pro and the first time she had been finished since May 2019.

Carmouche has won four straight inside the PFL cage. "Girl-Rilla" defended against Araujo's clinch work through a slow first round before reversing a pair of takedowns late in the frame. Sherdog reported that Carmouche improved to 25-8 with the win, while Araujo dropped to 14-8.

Elsewhere on the card, Alexandr Shabliy outpointed 2025 tournament champion Alfie Davis 30-27 on all three scorecards in his PFL debut. Rob Wilkinson stopped Abraham Bably with second-round ground strikes to snap a three-fight skid, and Jena Bishop submitted Ariane Lipski da Silva with an armbar 4:08 into Round 1.

Original reporting:

• sherdog.com — A.J. McKee, Liz Carmouche earn statement victories at PFL San Diego