Movlid Khaybulaev

Movlid Khaybulaev (born October 16, 1990) is a Russian retired mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division. A professional competitor from 2011 till 2023, he had competed in the Professional Fighters League (PFL), Fight Nights Global, and ONE Championship.

Personal life
Khaybulaev was born in the Republic of Dagestan, a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus region, along the Caspian Sea. Khaybulaev trains with former UFC Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Khaybulaev credits Nurmagomedov, as well as Nurmagomedov's father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who passed away due to COVID-19 complications in 2020, with inspiring him to compete in mixed martial arts.

Khaybulaev started with freestyle wrestling, but later the attention of the teenager switched to combat sambo. At the age of 16, Khaybulaev became the champion of the Southern Federal District in wrestling, and a year later, he secured the same result at the Russian Championship.

After, Khaybulaev entered the branch of the Law Academy under the Ministry of Justice of Russia, located in Makhachkala, in parallel with his studies. In 2009, again in the Southern Federal District, he took first place in the combat sambo championship, and after that he transitioned into mixed martial arts.

Early career
In the same year, 2009, Khaybulaev took part in the Dagestan Mixed Fight Championship and, having won another big victory, met Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. His first fight took place under the banners of ProFC, and in the fight, which took place in the format of 2 rounds of 5 minutes, the newcomer defeated Rustam Akhmarov.

In December of the same year, Khaybulaev participated in the MMA World Championship in Antalya, winning a gold medal at the event. After that, Khaybulaev got another victory among the pros and got the opportunity to fight in the Fight Nights league. The next three bouts took place there, with Khaybulaev picking up wins against Ruslan Yamanbaev, Alexander Panasyuk, and Vugar Bakhshiev.

By 2017, Khaybulaev had 11 victories in a row. After a quick finish in a fight with Paata Robakidze, his representatives came to the management of ONE Championship, and organized a fight for him in Malaysia against Herbert Burns at ONE: Throne of Tigers, Khaybulaev won the fight via unanimous decision.

Khaybulaev returned to Fight Nights, defeating Ilya Kurzanov in which he then signed a long-term contract with the PFL.

2019 Season
During his May 2019 PFL debut at PFL 2 against Damon Jackson, Khaybulaev defeated Jackson via a flying flying knee in the first 10 seconds. He continued his streak of wins until his second fight with PFL at PFL 5, which ended in a majority draw against Andre Harrison.

During the 2019 Playoffs at PFL 8, Khaybulaev was knocked out by Daniel Pineda in 29 seconds of the first round. The result was later overturned to no contest after the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Pineda and fined him $12,500 after finding elevated testosterone levels from his bout with Khaybulaev on October 17, 2019.

After the 2020 PFL season was cancelled due to COVID, Khaybulaev competed at UAE Warriors 14 on November 27, 2020 against Zaka Fatullazade, submitting him in the first round with a rear-naked choke.

2021 Season
In 2021, Khaybulaev competed in his second PFL season. At PFL 1 (2021), he beat Lazar Stojadinovic to secure three points in the regular season. On June 25, 2021 at PFL 6, Khaybulaev beat 2019 featherweight champion Lance Palmer to secure three more points, bringing his season point total to six, thus securing him as the fourth seed in the featherweight bracket.

On August 13, 2021 Khaybulaev fought number one seed Brendan Loughnane in the 2021 PFL Playoffs at PFL 9 on August 27, 2021, edging out Loughnane with a split decision victory to clinch a spot in the 2021 PFL World Championships.

On October 27, 2021 at PFL 10, Khaybulaev faced off against Chris Wade for the 2021 PFL featherweight world title. Khaybulaev outperformed Wade for 5 rounds and won via unanimous decision to win the PFL Featherweight title and earned a $1 million collective prize.

In March 2022, PFL announced on Twitter that Khaybulaev was injured and would not be defending his crown in the 2022 season.

2023 season
Khaybulaev started off the 2023 season against Ryoji Kudo on April 1, 2023 at PFL 1. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Khaybulaev was scheduled to face Daniel Torres on June 8, 2023 at PFL 4. After Torres had failed a commission drug test and was pulled from the season, he was replaced by Tyler Diamond. Khaybulaev won the fight via an arm-triangle submission in the second round.

Khaybulaev retired due to an eye injury that left him unable to compete anymore.

Mixed martial arts

 * Professional Fighters League
 * 2021 PFL Featherweight Championship