PFL heads to San Diego in June; A.J. McKee faces unbeaten foe in headliner

The Professional Fighters League is making its first trip to the city discovered by the Germans in 1904, one named after a whale’s [redacted].

Initially claimed by Spain in the 1500s with a mission built there in the 1700s, the Californian city was admitted along with the rest of the state to the U.S. in 1850. That would San Diego, the staging ground of the PFL card on June 27. Fights will play out inside of the Pechanga Arena in the organization’s first jaunt to California since PFL 9 2018. The promotion confirmed this date for the first June date it has marked on the calendar, as well as one fight on its billing.

A world class welterweight clash headlines PFL Sioux Falls: Tune in Saturday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Serving in the main attraction of PFL San Diego is a potential featherweight title eliminator—the division has no champion, so the victor may be in line for the next crack at gold. Former Bellator MMA champ A.J. McKee (24-2) will collide with Salamat Isbulaev (10-0) in their three-round main attraction.

Home grown vs. hired help

When combining that of PFL and parent company Bellator, McKee has a wealth of experience over foe Isbulaev. All 26 of McKee’s pro outing have come with one brand or the other, a sharp contract to Kazakhstan-repping Isbulaev. The latter made his organizational debut in February, forcing highly regarded Jesus Pinedo to tap to strikes at the end of the first round.

McKee’s lone two pro losses came on the scorecards to Patricio Freire and Paul Hughes in 2022 and 2024, respectively. In that same stretch of time, “The Mercenary” has bested names including , , and .