Category: PFL

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, March 24: Get used to this list for a while

With the global MMA schedule now at a virtual standstill, the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings will be rather stagnant for a few weeks.

While Cage Warriors was able to slip in an event this past weekend in England, the global MMA schedule is now at a virtual standstill.

Concern over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has led government bodies around the world to ban public gatherings, and travel restrictions have resulted in even more logistical challenges, leaving the sport’s biggest promotions unable to host events.

As such, the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA rankings aren’t likely to change until April 18, and even then, only provided UFC president Dana White can make good on his promise of finding a location to host a much anticipated lightweight title fight between the top two 155-pounders in the world with undefeated current champion [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) and former interim titleholder [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag] (25-3 MMA, 15-1 UFC).

The contest is set to headline UFC 249, which was originally expected to take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Despite the challenges, White has repeatedly insisted the card will take place on that date.

In the meantime, take a look at the latest rankings, which still see UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) as the top pound-for-pound fighter on the planet.

Jordan Young happy to sign with PFL: ‘I got the short end of the stick’ with Bellator

Jordan Young thinks the “lack of promotion is something serious” in Bellator and is keen for his fresh start in PFL.

As [autotag]Jordan Young[/autotag] looks ahead to the next chapter of his career with PFL, he has mixed feelings about his time with Bellator.

Young (11-1) spent the past three years and seven fights under the Bellator banner. He looked to be a major prospect, winning his first six bouts, including a stretch of five consecutive submission finishes. He stumbled in the final fight of his contract, though, and lost a decision to Julius Anglickas at Bellator 233 this past November.

Entering free agency off a lackluster defeat wasn’t part of Young’s plan, of course. He said he fought injured and that contributed to his performance, which he felt was negatively used against him in negotiations. When he sat at the table with the Bellator brass, Young said his frustrations with the organization were magnified and he opted to move on.

“I was looking to increase my worth and fell short a little bit there, then on the back end of that fight I needed hip surgery,” Young told MMA Junkie. “I don’t do excuses and (expletive), but I got MRIs. I got three MRIs from 2019. They all shown a torn hip. I tried doing everything, but it backfired on me. I didn’t get the job done. It’s not like Bellator wasn’t interested, but the numbers weren’t adding up for me. I’m not interested in taking steps back or doing anything that’s counterproductive to my career.

“Let’s throw two things out there. Look at the kid that beat me. He beat me, and you haven’t heard (expletive) about him. No promotion for the kid. He’s sitting on the sidelines, and I’m going to fight before he does, and I had a hip surgery. The lack of promotion is something serious over there. I feel that. I’m a young, up-and-coming star and I’m looking to remind people of that with PFL.”

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Young said his free agency discussions included MMA’s four major promotions: UFC, Bellator, PFL and ONE Championship. He thought PFL offered the most to him at this point in his career because competing in the 2020 season could allow him to fight up to five times in six months, and also offers the biggest immediate financial reward with a $1 million prize at the end.

The UFC was definitely a consideration in Young’s mind, he said, but ultimately he thought the timing wasn’t right.

“When I go to the UFC, I want to be prepared to be there to stay,” Young said. “It’s not that I don’t think I’m ready now, but I feel I have more steps to take. I don’t want to be a guy in the UFC that doesn’t own a house yet, that doesn’t have his (expletive) together, and then I’m forced to take different steps and try different things out because I need the money. When I go to the UFC, I’m going to be set. I’m going to have what I need to have, and regardless of what happens in my fights, I’m going to be taken care of.”

Young said he has a good perspective on what he needs in his career right now, and that’s why staying put with Bellator wasn’t a realistic option. Young said he’s appreciative of the experiences he gained fighting under Scott Coker’s brand, but he does have some issues with how business is done.

A fighter like Young, who appears to have the talent, personality and mindset to thrive in the sport, should have been pushed much harder, he said.

“A lot of people don’t know who I am across the MMA community because they haven’t had the opportunity to see me,” Young said. “At 25 years of age and with an 11-1 record, I think that’s kind of absurd. If you take a couple steps back, I’ve only fought two or three times a year. A lot of those fights are first-round finishes. I’m fresh. I’m healthy. I make my check and then I sit for six months and you don’t hear a word about me. That’s like the worst treatment I think you can give an up-and-coming fighter who has star potential and is winning his fights in the fashion I’m winning them, which is without being touched.

“I would rather have the long road than no road at all, but I feel like I got the short end of the stick. I notched off a lot of victories there in a short period of time and there wasn’t really any big payoff for me. I didn’t receive any big fights. I didn’t receive televised spots. But (I have) no ill will. My career will be long, and the time for that stuff is now.”

Young said he “went from a kid who didn’t have (expletive) to having a lot of opportunities” while at Bellator. But in the end it was time to move on.

PFL offers something very different to Young with its season format and focus on performance over everything else. It’s on that platform in which Young thinks he will flourish, and he’s eager for his debut fight in June.

“Nothing matters in this,” Young said. “Popularity, what you do outside – fighting is the No. 1 thing. It’s like ‘Mortal Kombat.’ There’s no ducking anybody. It’s always about who is next in line, and I’m looking at it as a fight to the death, every single one. I’ve always been ready to die, even for the lesser checks. I would let myself die for $50,000, so imagine what I’ll do for $1 million.”

Olivier Aubin-Mercier: PFL title money would surpass earnings of 12-fight UFC career

Olivier Aubin-Mercier’s stay with the UFC lasted more than five years, but now the Canadian is excited for new experiences with PFL.

[autotag]Olivier Aubin-Mercier[/autotag]’s stay with the UFC lasted more than five years, but after signing with PFL as a free agent, the Canadian is excited to experience something new.

PFL is on the other end of the spectrum from how UFC operates. From its format of a point-based season leading into playoffs and ultimately a championship, to the lofty $1 million payout for the winner in each weight class, Aubin-Mercier (11-5) said he’s thrilled to join the promotion’s 2020 lightweight season.

“I was pretty excited (to sign with PFL),” Aubin-Mercier told MMA Junkie. “I like the concept of PFL, and I think it’s pretty cool. It may be the future in the sense that it could be a big promotion to be a competition against the UFC. It’s two different concepts. People are going to be really interested in it because you have to follow your athlete through the season. It’s a really nice concept – a little bit like hockey here in Canada.”

For Aubin-Mercier, the shift to PFL offers a bright light after a dark time in his career. After making it to the UFC as a runner-up on “The Ultimate Fighter: Nations,” Aubin-Mercier had a largely positive run inside the octagon. He put together a stretch of seven wins in eight fights but then ran into a wall of three consecutive losses, the last of which marked the final fight on his contract.

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In late 2019, Aubin-Mercier revealed to MMA Junkie that the UFC had not expressed interest in bringing him back, and he was surveying his potential options. He said PFL came into the fold earlier this year, and the upside was too hard to resist.

According to Aubin-Mercier, the potential money to be made with PFL in a single season outweighs what he made in the UFC over 12 fights. However, the payday is only half his incentive.

“I have two motivations: I have the million dollars – that’s really nice, it’s a game-changer,” Aubin-Mercier said. “The sweet U.S. (dollars) – it’s more money than I’ve made from all my fights in the UFC, so that’s a pretty big deal. Then the other motivation is to be in the final. This year, they did the poster for the fights, like the artistic poster for each fighter in the final, and I really, really liked it last year. I would like that for me.”

With Aubin-Mercier’s PFL debut tentatively slated for early June (though the ongoing coronavirus crisis could potentially lead to a schedule adjustment), he said the focus is to prepare mentally and physically for what’s to come.

“I think it’s going to be a big challenge to fight twice in one night,” Aubin-Mercier said. “I’m ready to do it. It’s always interesting for an athlete to do something different. It’s really raw. It’s kind of old-school MMA with the new-school mixed in, too. I could fight five times in six months – that’s really interesting.”

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Louis Taylor says life changes after winning $1 million in PFL playoffs

Louis Taylor became a millionaire when he won the PFL middleweight season, which naturally drew plenty of people from out of the woodwork.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Louis Taylor[/autotag] became a millionaire when he won the PFL’s playoff final, which naturally drew plenty of people from out of the woodwork.

Taylor won the middleweight playoffs in 2018 with four wins and a draw en route to the $1 million prize.

And how has life changed for Taylor since then? People started reaching out to him, but at least it taught him who the truly genuine people were.

“You get a lot of cousins, a lot of collect calls from the county,” Taylor said earlier this month at a Dominance MMA media day in Las Vegas. “But the good part is, I kept my circle clean. When you’re focused, like most of us up here are, on your path, you could see the snakes coming. And everybody around you has been there and be there to support you. So people who are in it to be a leech, you could see it coming easily if your circle is right.”

Taylor said social media allowed him to look back and see who was supporting him through his journey.

“I really did at one point screen shot everybody that liked my Instagram posts at one time because I was like, ‘Watch this: A year from now, these are the people that really supported me,'” Taylor said. “Small things matter. Likes, comments – people don’t know, but sometimes we get down and the smallest comment – ‘Man, you’re really inspirational – I love you’ – these things keep us running a little faster on that treadmill, punching somebody a little harder. You just never know.”

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Bubba Jenkins learned lessons abroad ahead of PFL deal

Recent PFL signee Bubba Jenkins is excited for the opportunity to compete on American soil again.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Bubba Jenkins[/autotag] is excited for the opportunity to compete on American soil again.

The Brave CF featherweight champion recently signed with PFL and will participate in the upcoming season, the promotion announced last week.

Despite his eagerness to return to U.S. competition, Jenkins (14-4) is taking home the valuable lessons he learned abroad. Competing in a foreign land taught Jenkins a lot about fighting. His Brave CF tenure shed light on the motivational and technical differences of another region of the world.

“Fighting overseas gave me a taste of the different mixed martial arts that are out there (and) that exist,” Jenkins told MMA Junkie at a recent Dominance MMA media day. “A lot of people fight for their country. They fight for the different things they believe in. So when you get to go overseas, you really do get to see mixed martial arts at a more intimate level. You get to see their culture and the way they live, what they live for, and what they fight for. It actually portrays itself in the cage.

“It’s a little different why some of us Americans fight. It was a really good experience. It also helped me gain notoriety in foreign lands where they actually know my name. It helped me get a bigger audience.”

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Jenkins, 32, said he’s looking forward to his PFL debut. His aspirations are championship level – just like they’ve always been.

“Of course me being an American, having fought in Bellator, and looking at that PFL championship and the way that they got things set up, I have big aspirations of coming back home and being the champion everyone knows I am and have been,” Jenkins said.

To hear more from Jenkins, watch the video above.

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PFL’s Jeremy Kennedy not bitter about fighting two opponents who failed drug tests in same night

PFL featherweight Jeremy Kennedy had two of his opponents fail drug tests in 2019. He fought them both in the same night.

LAS VEGAS – Since drug testing’s inception in MMA, fighters have voiced their agitation and aggravation if an opponent fails a post-fight drug test.

PFL featherweight [autotag]Jeremy Kennedy[/autotag] had two of his opponents fail drug tests in 2019. He fought them both in the same night.

At the PFL’s second playoff event this past October, Kennedy (15-2 MMA) split two fights, going 1-1. After defeating Luis Rafael Laurentino by second-round knockout in the quarterfinals, Kennedy was submitted by Daniel Pineda in the semifinals.

When the Nevada Athletic Commission post-fight drug test results surfaced, both Laurentino and Pineda tested positive. Kennedy’s loss to Pineda was overturned to a no contest. Despite Pineda opening up a spot in the 2019 finals in New York on New Year’s Eve, PFL elected to give Alex Gilpin the opportunity instead.

At a Dominance MMA media day in Las Vegas earlier this month, Kennedy opened up about the strange experience. While he admitted the situation was frustrating, he put his absence from the PFL finals on himself more than anyone else.

“It was super frustrating, but realistically it comes down to: Just win the fight,” Kennedy told MMA Junkie. “A lot of people are like, ‘Oh man, you should be fighting in the finals.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I didn’t win the fight.’ Yes, he failed his drug test and (so did) the guy I fought first – but beat him. It gives those guys an advantage, but it also shows what kind of person they are. They need that help. Mentally, it’s a disadvantage to them. I just think I had a raw deal in that whole last season. It was more of a trial run for me.”

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Despite the hardships of his first PFL experience, Kennedy thinks the experience will serve as a lesson going forward. As he enters the 2020 PFL season, Kennedy said he’s coming into his own.

“I think this year coming forward, I’ve done the whole thing now,” Kennedy said. “I’ve had two fights in one night – even if they both tested positive. I was an alternate for the finals. I did that whole training camp during that timeline of fighting in New York City on New Year’s Eve. The regular season, I’ve got it all down.

“Now at 27, I’m coming into my own strength-wise, mentally, physically, and everything. I still have the youth, but I’ve got the experience as well – with my fights in the UFC, my PFL season and fighting overseas. I just think it was a blessing in disguise, and this was the year I’ve got to bring this thing home now.”

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American Top Team cancels classes amid coronavirus concerns; pro fighters, coaches still allowed

Only professional fighters and coaches will be allowed to train at American Top Team for the next 30 days.

With concerns about the novel coronavirus growing each day, American Top Team has taken a measure to look out for the general public.

The South Florida-based gym, home to an abundance of the world’s best MMA fighters, announced Saturday that it has decided to cancel all classes for the next 30 days, including kids classes, adult classes, after-school classes, and wrestling classes.

“During the past few weeks it has become apparent that we are facing a great challenge in regards to COVID-19,” ATT said in a statement issued on Instagram. “We want to do our best in keeping our members, families and communities safe and healthy. … We are doing this out of an abundance of caution for all. We hope you understand our decision and prepare accordingly and continue to follow the safe guidelines set forth by the CDC and Florida Dept. of Health.”

Professional fighters and coaches, however, will still be allowed to train, gym owner Dan Lambert said in response to an Instagram users question.

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That’s an apparent necessity given the UFC’s plan to continue holding events while the rest of the sports world seemingly has shut down amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

American Top Team is home to the likes of UFC stars Jorge Masvidal, Colby Covington, Dustin Poirier, Bellator champion Douglas Lima, and PFL women’s champion Kayla Harrison, among others.

You can read the gym’s full statement below:

View this post on Instagram

To Our Members, Please note: this message is for the main academy in Coconut Creek. During the past few weeks it has become apparent that we are facing a great challenge in regards to COVID-19. We want to do our best in keeping our members, families and communities safe and healthy. With that in mind, we have decided to CANCEL ALL CLASSES for the next 30 days. This is effective immediately. This includes: all kids classes, adult classes, and after-school, wrestling classes. We are doing this out of an abundance of caution for all. We hope you understand our decision and prepare accordingly and continue to follow the safe guidelines set forth by the CDC and Florida Dept. of Health. http://www.floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/COVID-19/ We will be adding time to everyone who has a membership. Should you have questions regarding your membership please email attmemberships@gmail.com We will continue to monitor the situation and keep everyone updated. Hopefully, we will be back to training soon as this gets under control. Respectfully, -ATT Management

A post shared by American Top Team (@americantopteam) on

To Our Members,

Please note: this message is for the main academy in Coconut Creek.
During the past few weeks it has become apparent that we are facing a great challenge in regards to COVID-19.

We want to do our best in keeping our members, families and communities safe and healthy.

With that in mind, we have decided to CANCEL ALL CLASSES for the next 30 days.
This is effective immediately.

This includes: all kids classes, adult classes, and after-school, wrestling classes.

We are doing this out of an abundance of caution for all. We hope you understand our decision and prepare accordingly and continue to follow the safe guidelines set forth by the CDC and Florida Dept. of Health.

http://www.floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/COVID-19/

We will be adding time to everyone who has a membership. Should you have questions regarding your membership please email attmemberships@gmail.com

We will continue to monitor the situation and keep everyone updated.
Hopefully, we will be back to training soon as this gets under control.

Respectfully, -ATT Management

Ex-UFC light heavyweight Tom Lawlor joins PFL roster

Add Tom Lawlor to the list of UFC veterans that will take part in PFL’s next season.

Add [autotag]Tom Lawlor[/autotag] to the list of UFC veterans that will take part in PFL’s next season.

Lawlor, 36, will compete in the promotion’s 205-pound division, joining fellow former UFC fighter signees Rory MacDonald, Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Johnny Case, Clay Collard, Marcin Held, Cindy Dandois and Justin Willis this season.

It’s been 16 months since Lawlor last competed, most recently suffering a unanimous decision loss to current UFC middleweight Deron Winn under the Golden Boy MMA banner. Prior to that, Lawlor, who was still under contract with the UFC, served a two-year suspension that stemmed from a positive test for ostarine.

Denying any intentional wrongdoing, Lawlor was released from his UFC contract two months before his suspension ended. While serving his time, Lawlor tried his hand at pro wrestling, becoming a star for the Major League Wrestling promotion.

The PFL season starts in May and will also feature all of 2019’s champions returning to action.

Mohammed Usman: Signing with PFL ‘made sense’ over UFC, Bellator and ONE

Mohammed Usman admits he was caught off guard when PFL reached out about joining the roster for the 2020 season.

[autotag]Mohammed Usman[/autotag] admits he was caught off guard when the PFL reached out to his team about joining the roster for the 2020 season.

Usman (6-1 MMA) said the promotion wasn’t initially part of his next-fight discussions after picking up a 48-second knockout win under the Titan FC banner in December. There were a number of top-tier organizations potentially vying for his services, but PFL came in with an offer he couldn’t resist.

“We looked at all our options and everywhere we could to take the next step,” Usman told MMA Junkie. “PFL really just came out of nowhere and it was a really great deal, so we had to take it. Bellator’s always been there for me, but we also had ONE (Championship) and the UFC. At this point in my career it just made sense to go to the PFL.”

Although the PFL’s most valuable attraction is the $1 million prize awarded to the annual champion in each weight class, the financial upside wasn’t the only thing that lured Usman. The unique format of putting fighters through a regular season, playoffs and championship round could mean five fights in a year for Usman, and that’s just what he needs going into his fourth year as a pro.

At 30, Usman can build up crucial experience as he tries to maximize his potential.

“It’s really mental,” Usman said. “You’ve got to really be able to use your mind in certain fights to the point where you can’t just go in there and have a complete, all-out brawl with a guy. You’ve got another fight coming right up. It really makes you think for yourself.”

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If Usman can make the most of his PFL opportunity, he could win $1 million and build a legacy separate from his brother, UFC welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman. And with PFL as an ESPN broadcast partner, he can do it on a stage with a heavy reach in MMA.

“I really, really like the platform PFL is designed on,” Usman said. “We’re on the same platform as the UFC with the fights on ESPN. Then of course, the money. It’s always good when organization shows they believe in you and PFL showed how much they believe in me. That’s a testament to what they’re trying to do.”

Usman is expected to make his PFL debut in the opening weeks of the 2020 season, which begins in May.

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PFL champion Lance Palmer happy to take the Eddie Alvarez path in his MMA career

Two-time PFL featherweight champion Lance Palmer talks about taking the journey less traveled in his quest for MMA greatness.

LAS VEGAS – For most fighters, the goal is simple: Get into either the UFC and Bellator, then fight your way to a title. But [autotag]Lance Palmer[/autotag] has chosen to do things a little differently.

Palmer (22-3) is taking the road less traveled and is about to enter his third straight season of action in the PFL, where he is a two-time featherweight champion.

For a man who was tipped to go right to the top early in his career, it was a leap of faith for Palmer to go a different route with his career. But he said he’s happy he did and cites one of the sport’s most respected active fighters as inspiration for his journey.

“Kind of my goal from the start when I first signed for World Series of Fighting was (to) take a different path,” he told MMA Junkie at a media day for Dominance MMA this past Saturday in Las Vegas. “It was the Eddie Alvarez path, in a way. Your legacy will come. You’ll eventually get the big fights, you’ll eventually get all the belts. That’s my goal at some point. Right now, I’m paving my own way and making my own path, and it’s worked for me. This path – it’s mine. It’s not something that everybody else can do. So I’m glad to be here and I’m glad to be in the position that I’m in.”

Alvarez built his career up fighting all over the world before capturing titles in Bellator and the UFC. Now he’s fighting in Asia for ONE Championship as part of a lucrative contract as he attempts to capture a clean sweep of major international titles. Palmer isn’t as far through his own MMA journey, but with two tournament wins under his belt, and two $1 million checks in the bank, things are going pretty well so far.

His third season with the PFL looks set to be his toughest yet, and that’s exactly how Palmer likes it. Previously, he found himself facing fighters who were virtual unknowns outside of the hardcore MMA community. But now, with the PFL looking to bolster its roster with more established talent, Palmer is relishing the opportunity to take on more recognizable names in the not-too-distant future.

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“I know they’re bringing more guys in, and tougher competition, and that’s the goal – that’s what I want,” he said. “I don’t want to have to prove myself by saying I’m beating tough guys. I want the guys to speak for themselves. So the tougher guys that they bring, the better it is for me, and the better the competition.

“It’s been a struggle for me through some of my career to have to try to build fights because people don’t know who I’m fighting, and that’s a lot of the problem that I’ve had. Even though I’m fighting tough competition, people don’t really know who they are, or they haven’t built a name for themself yet, so it’s been tough as far as that goes. But the PFL’s doing a good job of bringing new guys in every year who are tougher and built somewhat of a name, so it should get easier to kind of build each fight as we go along.”

Palmer’s next assignment comes against undefeated Jason Soares (14-0) in the PFL’s first regular-season event of 2020 on May 21. The two-time champion said that after taking a welcome two-month break from competitive action to refresh and relax away from the cage, he’s ready for the fray once again.

“If it wasn’t for the couple-month break, there probably wouldn’t be that much of an itch to get back in there,” he said. “Having five fights in seven months is hard on your body and hard on your mind, so it’s good to have January and February to kind of just relax. I went to Hawaii with my wife after the New Year and kind of relaxed at home. I don’t train at home – I train in New Jersey. So it’s nice to be able to be home and relax and live a normal life for a couple of months. Now I’m ready to get back in there.”

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