After losing in his PFL debut, Vassell picked up a victory and closed his trilogy against Valentin Moldavsky with a second straight win over him. Although he did not have enough points to make the postseason, “The Big Swarm” knew there was a chance he’d get a call, and he did get that call. Speaking to Sherdog.com ahead of the PFL Playoffs on August 2 in Nashville, Tennessee, Vassell detailed the call he received, which led to him being inserted into the Playoffs. “I got the call about three weeks ago, saying ‘there’s probably about a 95% chance that you’re going to be in the semi-finals, someone’s injured.’ The next day I got the call saying [Valentin] Moldavsky’s injured and I’m in. I got the call asking if I had been training and I had because even early on heavyweights were pulling out, so I stayed ready so I didn’t have to get ready.” Replacing Moldavsky felt poetic for Vassell, because not only had the two just completed their trilogy, but Vassell had won in their most recent meeting, only to find that he hadn’t accumulated enough points to make the playoffs. “I think what is fitting is, I’m not just replacing someone else, I’m replacing the guy I beat,” Vassell said. “I think it works perfectly, if I had to replace anyone, it would be the guy I literally just beat. It made sense to me. It made perfect sense, it was like wow, it’s funny how the world works.”
Throughout his 2024 PFL season, and now the postseason, Vassell has been matched up against only Russian fighters, a narrative he welcomes, and enjoys in his pursuit of the PFL championship.
“1 million percent. I said that to my friends, I said I’m fighting everyone from Russia, I guess it’s Linton vs. Russia. It would be hilarious if the finals were me against Denis [Goltsov], but I don’t want to get too far ahead.”
Despite it being his first season with the PFL, Vassell said he knew he had to be realistic with himself coming into the second fight. Knowing an early finish would likely be needed to secure a playoff spot, but even then, nothing was guaranteed.
“I knew I had a tough task ahead, I was being realistic. I was like ‘I’m not about to finish Moldvasky like last time, he’s a smart fighter’ and he was, he ended up grappling quite a lot. I didn’t jump the gun. I wasn’t down and I was really happy I got the win and proved myself right. I thought I’d be fighting Ryan Bader because Dan Hardy and some reporters had mentioned it, but then, I got this opportunity, so it all worked out.”
After being a staple at the top of the Bellator heavyweight rankings for years, Vassell enjoyed his first season with the PFL not only because of the activity, but because of the potential to secure the world title he’s worked for his entire career.
“I love it, active. I told a friend I’ve never trained this much in my life because it really is back-to-back. It’s not one fight then you don’t know when you’re fighting. It’s perfect. This is what I need, this is the way fighting should be. Not saying everyone should do this format, but fighters should be fighting, and we have a small opportunity to win.”
At 41 years old, Vassell also finds the PFL format to be beneficial for someone his age, as he can stay active and have the opportunity to win the season. The age narrative is one Vassell also wishes worked both ways in his fights, a narrative of him being too old which was silent during his most recent win.
“Hey, talk about my age now. Talk about I’m no good, talk about I should retire. So they’re talking about old man when I lost, why didn’t they say old man when I won? Keep it the same. It’s literally old man negative, not old man positive.”
Linton Vassell stayed ready so he didn’t have to get ready for Popov, and when the two men meet with a spot in the championship bout on the line, Vassell promises to break him. “I’m breaking this guy. He’s not fought no one like me, seriously. He’s got good grappling but he hasn’t fought people like me. I’ve seen his fights, he’s a good grappler, he doesn’t finish often. It’s more hold and hugging, that’s going to be trouble for him because if you’re not putting me away, I’m putting you away, and that’s exactly how it’s gonna go, I see myself finishing him in the second round.”