Thad Jean loses opponent, faces new foe for PFL title Saturday

Shamil Musaev has been pulled from Saturday's PFL Washington D.C. main event, forcing the promotion to book a new opponent for Thad Jean's welterweight title fight.

PFL officials confirmed to MMA Fighting on Thursday that Musaev is off the card, with MMA Junkie first reporting the change. Ernesto Rodriguez, an 11-1 prospect originally slated for the undercard, now steps into the championship bout on short notice. The promotion has not disclosed the reason for Musaev's withdrawal.

Jean seeks first PFL title after tournament win

The 11-0 Jean won the 2025 PFL welterweight tournament and looks to add the divisional strap with a victory over Rodriguez. Last-minute title fight changes are not unprecedented in major MMA promotions. Islam Makhachev faced Renato Moicano instead of an injured Arman Tsarukyan in 2025, while Khabib Nurmagomedov fought Al Iaquinta on short notice after Tony Ferguson fell out of their scheduled bout.

Rodriguez was already scheduled to compete Saturday but now gets a shot at gold in the evening's headliner. The PFL Washington D.C. main card starts at 10 p.m. ET with the revised Jean-Rodriguez title fight on top.

Reported via:

• MMA Fighting — PFL Washington D.C. loses one half of main event, replacement stepping into title fight