PFL Dubai Locks In 15-Fight Card Behind Nemkov-Bilostenniy Title Fight

PFL has filled every slot for its November 14 return to Dubai, and the finished card is much deeper than the heavyweight title fight at the top.

The promotion confirmed a 15-bout lineup Tuesday for Coca-Cola Arena. Vadim Nemkov will defend the PFL heavyweight championship against Sergei Bilostenniy in the main event, while undefeated Belgian prospect Patrick Habirora meets PFL MENA champion Omar El Dafrawy in a welterweight co-main event.

The main card also brings Sergio Pettis back against RIZIN veteran Joji Goto and ends a three-year layoff for Abubakar Nurmagomedov, who faces David Martinez.

A title fight with familiar history

Nemkov and Bilostenniy share more than a division and a Russian passport. Both came through the Team Fedor orbit, and PFL says they have shared training camps. That history adds a sharper edge to a fight that was already difficult to read.

Nemkov, 20-2, has not lost in more than a decade. He claimed the PFL heavyweight belt by submitting Renan Ferreira in the first round last December, extending an unbeaten run that now covers 15 appearances across RIZIN, Bellator and PFL.

Bilostenniy earned this chance by stopping Ferreira in the second round in May. The 15-4 challenger has won four of five PFL bouts and owns 10 knockout victories. He can look like a blunt-force heavyweight, but his spinning head-kick knockout and heel-hook finish make him harder to reduce to one threat.

"I always try to finish fights with a submission or a choke," Nemkov said in PFL's announcement. "Like Fedor says, fights should end early. But fighting is unpredictable, things don't always go according to plan, so you have to be ready to adjust during the fight."

Bilostenniy called it "a true test" and promised "a great, exciting bout between two big Russian guys." The promotional line writes itself, but the familiar-camp detail matters more. Each man should have a better idea than usual of what the other does well. That can produce a cautious chess match, or it can send both straight to the adjustments they have been saving.

Habirora takes another major step

Habirora's rise has moved quickly. The 9-0 welterweight went 3-0 in PFL Europe with three first-round knockouts, then stopped former UFC champion Benson Henderson in 20 seconds in Brussels. Dubai will be his first professional fight outside Europe.

El Dafrawy offers a different test from a famous name on the back end of his career. The 16-6 Egyptian is the inaugural PFL MENA welterweight champion and has won two straight in 2026. If Habirora runs through him, the prospect label will start feeling too small. If El Dafrawy drags the fight beyond the early exchanges, Dubai may tell us more about Habirora than the Henderson knockout did.

The complete PFL Dubai lineup

Main card

• Vadim Nemkov vs. Sergei Bilostenniy, PFL heavyweight title
• Patrick Habirora vs. Omar El Dafrawy, welterweight
• Pouya Rahmani vs. Oleg Popov, heavyweight
• Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. David Martinez, welterweight
• Sergio Pettis vs. Joji Goto, bantamweight

Preliminary card

• Shem Rock vs. Connor Hughes, lightweight
• Lewis McGrillen vs. Nawras Abzakh, bantamweight
• Asael Adjoudj vs. Movlid Khaybulaev, featherweight
• Alexei Pergande vs. Akhmed Magomedov, lightweight
• Khasan Magomedsharipov vs. Adam Borics, featherweight
• Denis Goltsov vs. Maxwell Djantou Nana, heavyweight
• Ernesto Rodriguez vs. Rhys McKee, welterweight
• Khabib Nabiev vs. Styve Ngono, light heavyweight
• Khamzat Abaev vs. Leon Hill, welterweight
• Aleksandra Savicheva vs. Jacinta Austin, women's strawweight

When and where to watch

PFL Dubai takes place Saturday, November 14, at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. The preliminary card begins at 9 a.m. ET, followed by the main card at 1 p.m. ET. PFL lists the ESPN App as the U.S. broadcaster and STARZPLAY for the Middle East and North Africa.

The headline pairing has been official since September. Tuesday's news is the completed card around it, and PFL has made sure the champion's first defense is not carrying the night alone.