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Timur Khizriev finally has a return date, and it comes with a familiar name waiting across the cage. The unbeaten former PFL featherweight tournament champion is set to face Gabriel Braga at PFL Chicago on Oct. 16, giving him his first fight since last year’s title win and his first competition since he survived a shooting in Dagestan. The matchup surfaced Monday night: More than a year after surviving a shooting, undefeated former PFL tournament champion Timur Khizriev will return for a pivotal rematch with Gabriel Braga. — Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) August 31, 2026 Khizriev Gets Braga Again After Long Layoff Khizriev enters the booking at 18-0 and still sits near the top of PFL’s featherweight picture. His last appearance was the 2024 championship run that ended with a decision win over Brendan Loughnane, a result MiddleEasy tracked when Khizriev outworked Loughnane to win the tournament. The year away from competition was not a routine injury layoff. Khizriev was hospitalized in 2025 after being shot five times during an alleged robbery in Makhachkala. The initial incident left Khizriev recovering after the Dagestan ambush, and this new booking turns that recovery into an actual return fight. Braga also brings built-in stakes. He and Khizriev met in the 2024 PFL featherweight semifinals, with Khizriev taking a split decision before winning the tournament later that year. A rematch gives Braga a chance to pull the division back toward him, while Khizriev can remind everyone why he left the season unbeaten. PFL Chicago Keeps Adding Weight The event is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 16 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago and will air on ESPN2 in the United States. PFL Chicago is already built around Liz Carmouche and Jena Bishop fighting for the inaugural women’s flyweight title, a rematch previously set when Carmouche vs. Bishop was set for Wintrust Arena. Khizriev vs. Braga now gives the card another ranked, high-stakes bout with title-picture consequences. The lineup is also expected to include Alexandr Shabliy vs. Landry Ward, Denis Goltsov vs. Maxwell Djantou Nana, and Sarvarjon Khamidov vs. Rafael do Nascimento. For Khizriev, though, the main point is simpler: after a frightening stretch outside the cage, he has a date, an opponent, and a direct route back into the featherweight conversation.