Thad
Jean emerged as one of the PFL’s top stars in 2025. | PFL
MMA
The vacant welterweight title will be on the line when
Professional Fighters League heads to the nation’s capital this
summer.
The promotion announced on Wednesday that undefeated 2025
tournament winner Thad Jean
will lock horns with 2024 PFL champ Shamil
Musaev for the 170-pound strap at CareFirst Arena in
Washington, D.C., on July 25. The
PFL D.C. main card will be broadcast live on ESPN beginning at
10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, while prelims will air via the ESPN app
beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. More bouts will be announced in
the coming weeks.
According to a release, the welterweight title was vacated when
Ramazan
Kuramagomedov was stripped of the belt. Kuramagomedov defeated
Musaev via unanimous decision to capture the 170-pound championship
at
PFL Dubai on Feb. 7. Kuramagomedov announced his retirement
after the victory, which is apparently why he was stripped.
“Thad Jean did everything that was asked of him. He won the 2025
tournament, beat elite competition, took the hardest path, and now
he can finish the job and become PFL welterweight world champion on
July 25,” said PFL CEO John Martin in a release. “Standing across
from him is Shamil Musaev, one of the most proven and dangerous
welterweights in the world, a fighter in pursuit of the one thing
he doesn’t have yet: PFL gold. This is a massive world championship
fight between two of the best welterweights on the planet, and I
can’t wait to bring it to Washington, D.C. live on ESPN.”
‘Silverback’ vs. ‘Silent Assassin’
Jean emerged as a person of interest in the welterweight division
thanks to his run through the PFL tournament in 2025. Victories
over Mukhamed
Berkhamov, Jason
Jackson and Logan
Storley propelled “Silverback” through the bracket, cementing
his spot as a title contender.
Musaev, meanwhile, emerged as one of the world’s top welterweights
when he won the 2024 PFL championship while competing in the
organization’s former season format. “Silent Assassin” defeated the
highly-touted Magomed
Umalatov via third-round TKO at the 2024 PFL championship to
complete a 4-0 campaign in 2024. Musaev suffered his first career
defeat in the aforementioned setback against Kuramagomedov.