Shane Burgos signs with PFL despite wins in latest UFC fights
‘Hurricane’ Shane Burgos is no longer in the UFC, despite picking up a win in his last outing at UFC Long Island in July.
“That was the last fight of my deal,” Burgos said today on The MMA Hour . “I said after the fight that I wanted to test free agency, test the waters. I know what I am worth, I wanted to see what everyone else thought I was worth. So I went out there, I tested the free agency market and I’m excited to announce that I’m signing with the PFL.
Burgos (15-3) earned a unanimous decision over Charles Jourdain on July 16 in his home state of New York.
The former featherweight free agent ultimately chose to sign with the Professional Fighters League even with back-to-back wins with the UFC.
“It was not an easy decision. It was an offer I couldn’t turn it up. I’ve got two daughters, I’ve got to go back home, I’ve got to look at them in the face when it’s all said and done in this sport. With this deal I feel like that will secure that. Not taking anything away from my UFC career. Eleven fights in the UFC, that was a dream when I was 14 years old. I saw it for the first time on TV when I was 12 and was like, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ When I was 14 I made the decision, I started training at 15, and the UFC gave me the platform to be able to be in this position right now and then secure the deal that I just secured with the PFL. [Sean Shelby, Dana White, Hunter Campbell, Mick Maynard], all the guys at the UFC, I can’t thank you guys enough.”
The UFC did not match the PFL’s offer according to Burgos.
“They couldn’t,” he said. “It was that good of a deal.”
“It was just PFL,” he added. “Last time [I negotiated with the PFL] it was relatively close, that’s why I was like, ‘It’s not that big of a difference.’ It was a bigger difference [this time]. It was a six-figure difference back then what I was going to get paid from the PFL and I turned that down to stay with the UFC. Now, it’s obviously bigger than that.”
Burgos said that expects to debut in November or December in a non-tournament bout before competing in the league’s regular season in 2023 with the goal of winning the PFL championship and a $1 million prize. His initial plan is to fight at featherweight in 2023, and then at lightweight the following season. He also said the PFL will allow him to commentate for the league in the future.
