Timur Khizriev is still undefeated, though it took one judge’s dissent and a moment the PFL itself couldn’t explain to get him there. Khizriev beat Gabriel Braga by split decision in the featherweight co-main event of PFL Chicago at WinTrust Arena, with two cards reading 29-28 for Khizriev and the third going 28-29 for Braga.
The result landed on the main card broadcast on ESPN2, and the promotion didn’t hold back on social media. The PFL’s account on X posted a clip mid-fight asking “How did Timur Khizriev survive this??” and then, once the scores were read, labeled the whole thing an “INSTANT CLASSIC.” That first post tells you plenty. Braga had Khizriev in real danger at some point in those 15 minutes, and Khizriev found a way through it.
This was a sequel, and it was billed as one. The r/MMA results thread ran it as Khizriev vs. Braga II, and a preview from شبكة تواصل الإخبارية framed the booking around high stakes and unfinished business. MMA Fighting’s card rundown set it up simply: undefeated Khizriev against PFL veteran Braga, three rounds at 145 pounds.
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Both men did their jobs on Thursday. Khizriev weighed in at 145.4 and Braga came in at 145.8, so nobody was carrying a bad cut into the cage. On a card where weight was the headline story (Liz Carmouche shaved her head to make 125 for the main event, then faded badly after the first round), the featherweights had no excuses either way.
The night belonged to rematches. In the main event, Jena Bishop avenged her 2025 knockout loss to Carmouche, grinding out a unanimous decision (48-47 on all three cards) to take the vacant PFL women’s flyweight title. Dakota Ditcheva, who stopped Bishop by TKO in 2024, walked into the SmartCage afterward to face off with the new champ, and MMA Fighting reported that the two will run it back for the belt sometime next year. Elsewhere on the main card, Oualy Tandia took a unanimous decision over J.P. Saint Louis (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
The prelims were a finishing clinic. Cobey Fehr choked out Rosario Romero in 58 seconds. Levan Khabalaev needed only 1:01 to stop Brock Hamer with a knee and punches. Gamid Khizriev, on the same card as Timur, put away Michael Boylan with punches at 3:04 of Round 1 at lightweight. And Noah Hermosillo closed the show early with a body kick and punches against Caden Cox at 1:43 of Round 3, which is the kind of finish I’ll rewatch twice before breakfast.
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The sources don’t say what comes next for Khizriev or Braga, and the PFL hasn’t announced anything.
My take: a split decision in a rematch settles nothing. One judge watched the same three rounds and saw Braga winning, and the promotion’s own social team spent the fight wondering how Khizriev was still standing. That’s 1-1 on the scorecards that matter most to me, the ones that ask who looked like the better fighter in the moment. Khizriev keeps his zero, and good for him for surviving whatever Braga hit him with. But if the PFL wants its unbeaten featherweight to mean something heading into 2027, it books the trilogy before either man fights anybody else.
