Frans Mlambo Explains Choice to Accept PFL Offer Over UFC Opportunity

Frans Mlambo won’t let anything stand between him and his next victory, not even a last-minute opponent change for his upcoming assignment at PFL Europe 2 on July 8.

Even though his opponent changed last week, Mlambo (13-5, 0-0 PFL) is ready to put on a show in his first assignment in over two years. The SBG Ireland representative was supposed to face Dominique Wooding in a rematch of their Bellator 227 clash before his adversary pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Rachid El Hazoume Aamay. Mlambo is coming off his Combate Global experience, where he fought three times in one night during the Copa Combative tournament. “The Black Mamba” was supposed to fight for the bantamweight title in Combat Global. However, he decided against it because he believed it would have kept him tied to the organization for an extended period.

At that time, Mlambo wouldn’t have imagined he wouldn’t hear anything about fights for more than a year. Eventually, he found out about an opportunity on “The Ultimate Fighter” and also received an offer from PFL on the same day. After considering his options, he signed with the PFL because he believed he could reach his financial goals more quickly with them than with the UFC. He also liked that the PFL could provide more frequent fights, which he had always wanted throughout his career.

"I felt I could get to where I needed to, financially at least, way quicker with the PFL than I could with the UFC. Obviously, the UFC gives you the prestige, you'd be more popular and stuff, but that's not what I'm looking for. I'm looking to set up my family, to be financially comfortable, and to be able to start a family. That's literally what I want to do right now. With the UFC, that would've taken maybe three years, I'd say, at least, to get to the stage where I feel like I want to be. With the PFL, I could get there within a few months. By the end of next year, I could be a millionaire with the PFL. That was a no-brainer."

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro
(00:15) Doing his laundry
(01:20) His Copa Combate experience
(02:14) Staying on the sidelines for two years and a half
(04:10) Deciding not to fight for the Combate Global championship
(06:25) Signing with PFL rather than with the UFC
(08:08) Looking forward to his next fight
(08:32) Evolving as a fighter
(10:08) Teasing carnage in his upcoming clash
(10:35) Outro