Jesus Pinedo promises to be the first to hand Movlid Khaybulaev a loss in MMA.
A championship belt and $500,000 should be more than enough for Jesus Pinedo to want to get his hand raised on Friday night. However, there is another factor that has the Peruvian psyched for his return to the PFL smart cage.
Pinedo (25-6-1) takes on Movlid Khaybulaev in the co-main event of the 2025 PFL World Tournament 8: Finals, which goes down at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This bout serves as the final of the 2025 PFL featherweight tournament. Both Pinedo and Khaybulaev have won the tournament in previous years, but one thing separates Khaybulaev from Pinedo – an undefeated record.
Pinedo is eager to level that statistic and become the first to beat Khaybulaev in MMA.
“Of course, that’s what motivates me,” Pinedo told MMA Junkie Radio in Spanish when asked about Khaybulaev’s undefeated status. “I’m excited to fight with a rival of his caliber. We knew that he was the guy to beat at the beginning of the tournament, so I’ve been preparing very hard to fight him. I’m completely ready, and I will be the first guy to give him that first defeat.”
Pinedo, who logged first-round finishes over Adam Borics and Gabriel Braga to get to the final, hopes his fight against Khaybulaev draws out a little longer than his recent bouts. He wants his fight with Khaybulaev to go long, so he can prove to the world that he’s superior to Khaybulaev and leave no doubt who’s the better fighter.
“I would love for the fight to go long, and that is not a fight that ends quick like the ones I’ve been having,” Pinedo explained. “Normally, I go to finish the fight in the first round, since the very first second, but if the fight goes long, that’s good for me. That way I can show my work even more both technically and physically. I want to be abke to show people what I’m made of.”
