A.J. McKee made it clear following his main event win at PFL San Diego on Saturday that his only reason for returning to the featherweight division was a chance at becoming champion. Making the 145-pound limit has never been easy for McKee and now we have further proof after his fight night weight was revealed on Monday.
As part of its mission to curb extreme weight cutting in the sport, the California State Athletic Commission provided the fight night weights for all the competitors on the card in an email sent to MMA Fighting on Monday.
McKee hit the scale on Friday at 145.6 pounds and then he gained a whopping 25.8 pounds before setting foot in the cage on Saturday. McKee ultimately weighed 171.4 pounds for his fight and while he was bigger than opponent Salamat Isbulaev, the Russian also packed on quite a bit of weight.
Isbulaev, who suffered his first career loss after dropping a decision to McKee, weighed 145.8 pounds for the fight and then added another 16.7 pounds to weigh 162.5 on fight night.
In the co-main event, Liz Carmouche scored an impressive submission win over UFC veteran Viviane Araujo as she continued her winning ways in the PFL. Carmouche weighed 126 pounds on Friday and then added another 21 pounds to weigh 147 for the fight on Saturday.
After her win, Carmouche mentioned she wanted the PFL to add a women’s bantamweight division because cutting down to the flyweight limit isn’t easy. That said, Carmouche is still a top contender in the 125-pound division and could be poised for a future showdown against Dakota Ditcheva if she sticks around in that weight class.
As for Araujo, she weighed 125.8 on Friday and ultimately weighed 139.1 pounds on Saturday, which amounted to a 13.3 pound weight gain.
The biggest weight gain by percentage on the entire card came from 2025 PFL lightweight tournament champion Alfie Davis, who stepped onto the scale at 156 pounds on Friday and the packed on 29.1 pounds before he faced Alexander Shabliy on Saturday. Davis ultimately weighed 185.1 pounds for the fight — a 19% weight gain.
Here are the full fight night weights for PFL San Diego from Saturday along with the percentage of weight gain between Friday and Saturday:
A.J. McKee: 145.6 to 171.4 (25.8 pounds), 18%
Salamat Isbulaev: 145.8 to 162.5 pounds (16.7 pounds), 11%
Liz Carmouche: 126 to 147 pounds (21 pounds), 17%
Viviane Araujo: 125.8 to 129.1 pounds (13.3 pounds), 11%
Alexander Shabliy: 155.8 to 172.6 pounds (16.8 pounds), 11%
Alfie Davis: 156 to 185.1 pounds (29.1 pounds), 19%
Abraham Bably: 205.6 to 220.1 pounds (14.5 pounds), 7%
Rob Wilkinson: 205.8 to 226.1 pounds (20.3 pounds), 10%
Khasan Magomedsharipov: 145.8 to 163 pounds (17.2 pounds), 12%
Joshua Weems: 146 to 163.5 pounds (17.5 pounds), 12%
Ariane da Silva: 126 to 142 pounds (16 pounds), 13%
Jena Bishop: 125 to 136 pounds (11 pounds), 9%
Justin Wetzell: 135.6 to 158 pounds (22.8 pounds), 17%
Sarvardzhon Hamido: 137.6 to 158.1 pounds (20.5 pounds), 15%
Shannon Clark: 125.4 to 141.5 pounds (16.1 pounds), 13%
Ilara Joanne: 124.8 to 137.2 pounds (12.4 pounds), 10%
Cobey Fehr: 135.8 to 148.2 pounds (12.4 pounds), 9%
Daniel Bzdigian: 135.6 to 142.5 (6.9 pounds), 5%
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