PFL CEO John Martin says that his MMA promotion will not let Usman Nurmagomedov go to the UFC without a fight.
Nurmagomedov is the hottest free agent in MMA right now after knocking out Archie Colgan in his last outing at PFL New York in July. With an undefeated 22-0, 1 NC record and the pedigree of being a member of the famed Nurmagomedov family, it’s no surprise that the UFC is extremely interested in signing him.
However, while UFC president Dana White may be interested in bringing Nurmagomedov to the world’s leading MMA promotion, the PFL has a 90-day exclusive negotiating period with their lightweight champion right now, and the organization is going to try to do everything they can to keep him in the fold.
PFL Trying to Keep Usman Nurmagomedov
Speaking to MMA journalist Ariel Helwani on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Martin made it clear that the PFL will make Nurmagomedov a competitive contract offer and isn’t prepared to just let him walk away to the UFC without a fight.
“I think you may be wrong (about Nurmagomedov signing with UFC). There is so much misinformation. The UFC has not given him an offer. They’re not legally allowed to. We have an exclusive negotiating period. We’re putting together an offer, and we’re going to sit down and talk with them. I think our offer will be competitive. It’s really up to him. We would love to have him. We would love to keep him,” Martin said (via Bloody Elbow).
“I do have to say, it’s a little bit funny… I started saying a year ago, ‘This guy is one of the best lightweights in the world,’ and I think people were almost mocking me. The original speculation was that he wouldn’t even be top 15 in the UFC… Now I find it kind of ironic that he is being paraded around like he’s the salvation of mixed martial arts. I mean, he’s a terrific talent, and we would love to keep him and work with him. We’d love for him to be a meaningful part of our promotion. If he chooses that that’s not the path he wants to take, then we have a lot of great fighters here, and it’s a dynamic ecosystem.”
Fans Want Usman Nurmagomedov in the UFC
While Martin is going to try and keep Nurmagomedov in the PFL, no question fight fans would prefer to see him sign with the UFC, because there are far more intriguing matchups for him inside the Octagon.
In the UFC, there are dream matchups for Nurmagomedov against the likes of Justin Gaethje, Arman Tsarukyan, Charles Oliveira, Mauricio Ruffy, Paddy Pimblett, and Ilia Topuria, just to name a few, though he would likely fight someone ranked a bit lower in the top 15 in his first UFC bout.
In the PFL, however, there really aren’t too many intriguing options for him, save for a trilogy bout against rival Paul Hughes. Otherwise, there really isn’t anything super interesting available at the moment.
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