On Wednesday, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s teammate Movlid Khaybulaev made headlines after USADA suspended him for a year. Following a thorough review after his PFL 8 fight in August, the agency detected the presence of rEPO in the two-time PFL featherweight champion’s bloodstream. Since the suspension, Khaybulaev has faced cheating allegations regarding past fights. Notably, Conor McGregor’s teammate Brendan Loughnane suspected him of cheating, and now Ben Askren has also echoed similar concerns. 

 The Brit faced Khaybulaev back in 2021 at PFL 2021 #9 and lost via split decision in a tournament with $1 million on the line. So, after ‘The Notorious’ teammate got to know about his former opponent popping for rEPO, he didn’t hesitate to bring back the old memory and called Khaybulaev a “cheater” on X. Now, Loughnane’s post got a reaction from Ben Askren, who believes the Englishman should get that million dollars, suspecting the Russian also used rEPO in that match to gain an unfair advantage. 

Ben Askren Backs Brendan Loughnane following Khabib Teammate’s PED Violation

“You should make him give the $1 million to @BrendanMMA  since he won it fraudulently.” ‘Funky’ replied to PFL’s post on X. 

Ben Askren’s perspective is reasonable, as he thinks Brendan Loughnane deserves compensation, given the possibility that Khaybulaev might have violated the rules by using a prohibited substance in their 2021 match. Yet, the Russian athlete hadn’t failed a test then, and the promotion wouldn’t likely earn back that sum. Nevertheless, the MMA star isn’t the only one seeking harsh penalties.

Joining the backlash, Aljamain Sterling also voiced his opinion and made it clear that officials need to ban fighters for at least three to five years for using substances like rEPO.

“Agree with my most of this, but I think the ban should be 3-5 years. Just enough to allow a chance of redemption, but long enough for ppl to second-guess cheating. If he was taking takin BPC 157, or some other peptide, I wouldn’t be mad at all, as testing agencies state it is NOT a PED. It’s simply not FDA-approved. But PED busts, with zero legitimate reason for it should have a long consequence than 1 year.” ‘Funkmaster’ posted on X.  

For the unversed, Sterling mentioned that Khabib’s teammate didn’t use a peptide like BPC 157, which is often associated with muscle recovery. Still, BPC 157 also has complex regulations. Instead, ‘Funkmaster’ called out Khabib Nurmagomedov’s teammate for using a proper performance enhancer. Because of that distinction, the former 135 lbs champ stressed the fact that Movlid Khaybulaev should get an extended suspension, as he used it without any medical issues.  

Now, amid the ongoing backlash, it’s hard to say whether Khaybulaev’s suspension will extend or not. But in the meantime, the PFL has taken some even more drastic steps to punish the Russians further.

PFL removes Movlid Khaybulaev as featherweight champion 

Khaybulaev defeated Jesus Pinedo in his last fight at PFL 8 to become the featherweight champ once again. However, before the Russian could start his reign, the promotion decided to strip him of his belt.

“Khaybulaev forfeits the distinction of 2025 PFL Featherweight Tournament Champion, the championship belt, and all associated bonus awards. The PFL maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward the use of performance-enhancing substances and remains fully committed to the highest standards of fair competition, athlete safety, and integrity in sport,” the PFL stated, according to a BBC article.

Well, as Team Khabib’s prime member faced a year-long suspension, many believed that the PFL would eventually snatch the belt from him. Still, there was some skepticism regarding this move because Donn Davis and Co. didn’t remove Usman Nurmagomedov from the lightweight throne after he tested positive for a banned substance.

That said, with the PFL featherweight title picture wide open for quite a while, what matchup do you think the promotion will make next? Let us know in the comments section below.