Shane Burgos Praises PFL for Competing with the UFC, Thinks More Fighters Will Test Free Agency

Shane Burgos left the UFC on his own terms before landing in the Professional Fighters League last year, and believes he will be far from the last to do so.

“Hurricane” (15-3, 0-0 PFL) left the UFC on a win after piling up an 8-3 Octagon record and a reputation as a fan-favorite action fighter, and tested free agency before eventually signing with PFL. He had been scheduled to make his promotional debut against fellow Ultimate Fighting Championship alum Marlon Moraes at the PFL Championships event last November, but an injury forced him to withdraw.

Now, Burgos will be welcomed to his new home by 2022 PFL 155-pound champion Olivier Aubin-Mercier at 2023 PFL 3 on April 14. The recently appointed Socios.com endorser told Sherdog that the main motivation behind his signing with PFL was the chance to win the $1 million prize. According to Burgos, the fact that a promotion like PFL can match—if not exceed—the UFC's offers can only be a good sign for fighters.

“I think there's a lot more guys that are gonna test free agency after I made that move, and Francis [Ngannou] is making the move too. I don't know where he's gonna sign exactly, but you see what Francis did. After the two of us did what we did, like guys don't really leave the UFC, especially after wins. I think that opens the floodgates and it's healthy competition. You need promotions like [Bellator MMA], [One Championship] and PFL to compete with the UFC, so guys know that they can go out and they can get paid. I get UFC has that name value and it has that aura to it. Everyone wants to be in the UFC, I completely understand that. I was that guy, but it's gotta be worth it, man. You don't play fighting. When this s—t is done, you gotta look back and be like, do you wanna say, ‘Yeah, I made it to the UFC,’ or do you wanna say, ‘I made a living. I'm able to retire. I got money in the bank for the rest of my life. I could provide for my kids forever?’ To me, that means more.”

(00:00) Intro
(00:30) Preparing for Aubin-Mercier
(01:26) Signing with PFL
(02:06) Hoping for more competition across MMA promotions
(03:40) Getting injured ahead of his clash with Moraes
(04:40) Moving up to lightweight
(06:06) His expectation for the fight
(06:37) Commenting on the PFL format
(07:41) What would he do in case of the $1 million prize victory
(08:06) Outro