PFL’s New King of the Lightweight Jungle

A year of understanding what was in front of him, along with the road less traveled to a championship opportunity, led Gadzhi Rabadanov to a moment he was prepared for: winning the Professional Fighters League.

Speaking to Sherdog.com as the 2024 PFL Regular Season began, Rabadanov, a Bellator MMA veteran since 2021, believed he would become world champion. He started his season with a unanimous decision win over Solomon Renfro, followed by another unanimous decision victory against Elvin Espinoza, punching his playoff ticket.

He would make an emphatic statement with a second-round TKO of Michael Dufort in his August semifinal, which meant that all Rabadanov needed was a win over fellow longtime Bellator staple Brent Primus in the championship on Nov. 29. The triumphant moment would come in the third round, when he stopped the American with strkes, netting him the PFL lightweight title and $1 million grand prize.

In an interview with Sherdog following his victory, Rabadanov reflected on his journey to a world title, how the title means more to his legacy than the money, and welcoming all challengers in 2025. Discussing the difference of a PFL season, the 31-year-old Dagestani discussed how he had to focus on maintaining his health and there was no room for any mistakes given the season format.

“The way the format is set in this season, you have no place for any slip up,” he said. “The preparation, the process, that was all pretty difficult, but as we say, the more difficult the path, the more we enjoy the victory, and that was the case with me. I was victorious this year and I look forward to doing it again next year.”

When it comes to the 2025 PFL Regular Season, Rabadanov says his lone motivation is to keep his momentum going, and he’s going to wait and see who the PFL will put in next year’s season. “For me the motivation is to keep the momentum going, I feel great with this season being a success. I don’t know how they’re going to play out next season, but for me, just to run through everybody, and I’m very excited. I’m going to be smashing everybody.”

A $1 million paycheck is substantial for any fighter, but for Rabadanov, having a championship legacy is what matters most to him.

“That’s all my friends and people around me have been talking about for the last month - the money,” he said. “Everybody is just discussing that, but for me, the most important thing was becoming champion. It’s hard work, that’s why we get into this business, and now that I have the money I can relax a little bit, but it also motivates me to keep going.”

Not only for his career as a fighter, but the longer journey he took to get his world title, along with the company he keeps, all means the most towards his legacy. That company comes in the form of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, current UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, and the rest of Nurmagomedov’s family, including Bellator Champions Series champion Usman Nurmagomedov and UFC bantamweight title contender Umar Nurmagomedov. For Rabadanov, wants the story of his journey to continue to grow, saying his story is still being written.

“The way I see it, my story is still being written, it’s not done yet. Yes I became a champion but in our circle, just becoming champion is not enough. For me it’s been a long path but there are people who get inspiration from my story, their stories, and we do that collectively to promote our region, promote Dagestan. To me, I think it was just a stepping stone, I need new challenges, and I’ll be looking for them so that my story becomes bigger every year.”

Awaiting new challenges, Rabadanov has a clear and concise message to anyone looking to enter the 2025 PFL Lightweight Regular Season, there’s a new king of the jungle.

“My message is going to be very simple: The PFL Lightweight jungle has a new king and I’ve been looking for a long time for the right jungle. I’ve found my spot and I’m going to be defending it, so anybody’s welcome to come challenge me.”

It may have taken Gadzhi Rabadanov longer than he would’ve liked to become a world champion, but given the unique style of the PFL season format, he’s ready to continuously build his career each and every year while defending his throne, even if he doesn’t get to keep the belt every year.