The Professional Fighters League has seen plenty of movement in its first year under a traditional rankings system, as the company distances itself from the tournament format for which it was once known. The change has also resulted in the organization making a concerted effort to invest in its most recognizable and accomplished competitors. Over the past month alone, the PFL has traveled to Madrid, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Belfast, Northern Ireland, with many of those shows featuring native sons and daughters. Those four events have cleared up the title picture in several divisions while also allowing fast risers to elevate their respective names into high-level matches.A world class welterweight clash headlines PFL Sioux Falls: Tune in Saturday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. In this inaugural addition of the PFL winner’s circle, we dive into what some of the promotion’s biggest winners over the past month had to say:
“I don’t care who it is, what organization or what’s going on, [the] PFL’s got the best 145-pounder in the world. I know that. If other people don’t believe it, well, I’m willing to show it. I enjoy my life. That’s my money, man. I go in there, don’t get hurt, wait for that call and [get] right back into deployment. The ‘Mercenary’ is going to take somebody out again.”
“I am the guy that’s going to take the company to the next level, 100%. I’m going to work for it. My dream was to become a champion in one of the biggest organizations in the world. I did that. Now, I did not believe I would be taking one of the biggest organizations in the world to Madrid, Spain, but I did that. You need to dream bigger. Just dream as far as you can without thinking you can fail. So now, my next dream is to not only be the face [of the company] but knowing that I’m the man that can take the organization to the next level. I’m down for anything that the PFL wants to do to help the company grow.”
“I think [the rematch with Costello is] the biggest fight you can make for the PFL. It’s the biggest fight in my career. Actually, not my career. It’s going to be the biggest fight for Costello’s career, though. My biggest fight was when I originally won the title, but maybe this is the second biggest. After it’s done—you never know how it’s going to go—maybe it’s the biggest. Regardless, it’s the biggest fight that the PFL can make, and I think fans all around the world want to see this fight again.”
“I’ve had a brief discussion over the phone with my coaches, and we’ll have another conversation, but I’m honestly thinking my next fight will be at 145 pounds. I’ve been watching all the 145-pound guys, and I’d say I’ve watched [the] last five fights [of everyone who is ranked] in the last four days. That’s the truth. All I’ve done is study every one of them, and I like my chances at that weight class. I’ve felt absolutely unbelievable all week in my fight at 145 pounds, and that was me half clamoring onto 135. I’m going to have high energy at the weight class. I’m going to be a problem.”
“Before the fight, I was thinking, ‘I’m going to go out there and the whole crowd is going to be against me.’ I’m in their city fighting, and I watched a lot of other fighters when they walk out to ‘Sweet Caroline,’ especially the Irish, [and] the crowd goes crazy. They all sing along. So I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to troll them. I’m going to play ‘Sweet Caroline,’ and they’re going to be so drunk by the time I’m going to fight.’ I was going to be fighting at like 1 a.m. ‘They’re going to be so drunk that they all are going to sing along with me and not realize that they’re singing with me and not booing me.’ There was a lot of thought process, and I asked the PFL not to play ‘Sweet Caroline’ the whole night so that would be the first time they heard it on my walkout.”
“The biggest change for me definitely was the mental side of training. I felt like I’ve always physically showed up in the gym every day. I’m always working the hardest in the room and trying to improve, but I found [in] a lot of my last performances, I struggled mentally more than anything. I struggled to find true confidence in myself, in my preparation. I felt like that was a massive missing piece for me. So in the last year, I’ve done a lot of work, and I’ve got a sports psych now. I’ve just really invested in myself, obviously physically, but mostly mentally in the last year. The biggest thing I’ve learned is trust your prep and let go.”