PFL CEO taking ‘wait and see’ approach to new deal for undefeated champ

Professional Fighters League CEO John Martin is trying to build
a brand that is not dependent on a single fighter.

PFL lightweight champion Usman
Nurmagomedov (21-0) will look to defend his title against
fellow undefeated fighter Archie
Colgan (13-0) on July 31 at UBS Arena in Long Island, New York.
This is the last fight on the current contract of Nurmagomedov.

Martin recently revealed that the PFL hasn’t talked to Nurmagomedov
yet about the renewal of his contract. Martin wants to see how
things play out after Nurmagomedov’s fight against Colgan. While
Martin would love for Nurmagomedov to continue with the PFL, he is
not too bothered about the concept of a longtime lightweight
champion going elsewhere. Martin believes that, like the
Ultimate Fighting Championship, PFL should prioritise its brand
over any single athlete. Martin is looking to build a system where
they can build multiple stars under the PFL brand.

“For Nurmagomedov, his legacy is clear,” Martin told Home of Fight.
“He is a fantastic champion… This is his last fight under the
agreement. We haven’t engaged in any discussions with him yet.
Let’s get through the fight and see what he wants to do. He’s a
great part of the PFL. We love having him here. And if it makes
sense for us to keep him, and he wants to do it, we’d love to have
him stay. We just have to wait and see what happens. If he really
wants to go off and go somewhere else, then we’ll have to deal with
that, too. In our job and in our position, and it’s something the
UFC has done brilliantly throughout the years, is that the brand
really has to be first and foremost. Then you have a portfolio of
fighters and an ecosystem of finding the next great star early in
their career. And I think we’ve got a number of those really
exciting young fighters coming up. And then you try to create stars
and then keep them for as long as you can, as long as it makes
sense. But there’s no one star or two stars that will effectively
represent the entire organization.”