The State of the Union with Professional Fighters League’s Ray Sefo
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Editor’s Note: Due to unforeseen technical issues, the first 3:30 of the video is a mix of audio, images and PFL highlight clips.
The 2019 Professional Fighters League season has not been without its flaws. Season 1 champions were excluded because of injuries and the middleweight division was scrapped. Plus, at least one fighter missed weight on all six of the league’s events this year. Yet like its inaugural season, new stars were developed, memorable highlight finishes occurred and the format once again showcased fighters deciding their fates with fists, not social media posts. League president Ray Sefo talked to Sherdog about the season that was, the playoffs in October and much more in this exclusive video interview.
In Season 1, fighters like Ray Cooper III, Kayla Harrison and Steven Siler were breakout stars. Telling sometimes surprising tales of athletes maturing into fighters or solid veterans evolving into dangerous competitors. Season 2 was no different, as John Howard, Movlid Khaybulaev and Emiliano Sordi created unexpected results that ended up being pivotal moments during the first six events.
“You always wish the best for everybody, and of course, the great thing about this format is it really does show what level these guys are at,” Sefo told Sherdog. “The surprise of [Emiliano] Sordi and Bozigit [Ataev]; Bozigit stopped Sordi last year, and so going into that fight I think Bozigit had the edge. But Sordi came out like, hey buddy, I can do exactly what you can do, [and] ended up stopping Bozigit in the first round. Those were some of the surprises, but that’s what happens in this format. The PFL format presents those great fights, and the unexpected. I didn’t think John Howard would put things together like he did on fight night, and was able to stop Ray {Cooper III] by banging away, and knocking the guy out. That was a huge surprise.”
Along with talking about the surprise star turns of Season 2, Sefo also talked to Sherdog about some of the unique issues that hampered the league., such as fighters missing weight and if the league’s wealth of international talent were able to connect with its North American fan base. The league president also spoke on some highly-anticipated playoff matchups, as well as if Genah Fabian and Larissa Pacheco can upset the expected matchup between Harrison and Sarah Kaufman in the women’s lightweight finals. As the driving force behind the league’s roster, he was also asked about the futures of Season 1 talent like Philippe Lins, Josh Copeland and Louis Taylor. All three did not participate in Season 2 for various reasons. He talked about interest in recent Bellator signing Cristiane Justino, as well as the addition of Dana White’s Contender Series veteran Brendan Louhgnane.
