Chris Wade: Professional Fighters League a Perfect Fit

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the PFL and UFC on ESPN+ live on your computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Chris Wade will look to secure a spot in the Professional Fighters League playoffs at PFL 5 on Thursday at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. There, he accepts an assignment to headline his first major MMA event with the promotion he sees as the best fit for him.

Postseason seeding in the PFL does not mirror other professional sports. A No. 1 seed does not give a fighter home-field advantage or other benefits that come with such status. It begs the question: Is seeding a priority for PFL fighters?

“It’s so hard to say because you don’t know who’s going to fall where quite yet,” Wade told Sherdog.com. “Everybody matches up stylistically better or worse against different opponents. As it starts to stack up, if you’re looking for like the highest possible seed -- and I’m looking for that finish to get myself up to the top -- the guy that comes in at seven, who knows? It could be someone who for me, stylistically, it winds up being one of my toughest bouts. Whereas you wind up the six seed and the guy who’s sitting at three, maybe that’s a better matchup for you. It’ll be hard to tell until that night when the chips start to fall where you’re kind of hoping to land.”

Wherever the 31-year-old lands in the playoff brackets, Wade sounds content to be a part of the PFL roster and views it as the perfect home for him at this stage of his career.

“There’s nowhere else where I stand to do better,” Wade said. “There’s no situation that could possibly be better. Everyone’s getting paid pretty solid, and when you tell someone at the end of the calendar year, everyone has a shot at a million dollars, as well, where else in fighting can you say that is a reality?”

In this interview with Sherdog.com, Wade discussed the PFL’s concerted effort to market him for Season 2, his PFL 2 win over Nate Andrews and PFL 5 opponent Akhmed Aliev. He also touched on his devotion to local sports teams in New York, like the Mets, Knicks and Giants, and weighed in on his favorite shows: “Game of Thrones” and “Stranger Things.”