Since its inception in 1993, the UFC has established itself as the biggest MMA promotion in the world. However, things may be about to change with its rival, the PFL, emerging as a top promotion on its own. As such, PFL’s new signee Khai Wu recently gave his take on the fate of PFL against the UFC, led by Dana White, in an ES exclusive interview.
28-year-old Khai Wu made waves after people came to know about him as the trainer of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. However, he is an accomplished MMA fighter on his own. With 7 wins and 4 losses in his professional fighting career, Wu recently signed with the UFC’s rival, the PFL. Let’s take a look at what made him join Donn Davis‘s promotion as he made an appearance on a recent edition of the ES FanCast with host Noah Lack.
Khai Wu reveals why he joined the PFL
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There have been a lot of speculations regarding how MMA promotions, like the UFC and PFL, work with their fighters. When Noah Lack asked Khai Wu about it, he did not seem to know exactly what goes on behind the scenes. He said, “I’ve heard things, but I’ve never interacted with Dana [White] personally and PFL personally.”
Meanwhile, when it comes to having signed with the PFL, ‘The Shadow’ mentioned that there was one particular thing that stood out for him. It was a million-dollar competition that fighters participate in, in Donn Davis’s promotion, which isn’t something that UFC fighters are used to.
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“I can’t really say all that, but what I do like, the standout is that you have a million-dollar tournament in PFL versus UFC, where there is no tournament,” said Khai Wu. Moreover, he also gave his take on the fate of the PFL when it gets pitted against Dana White’s $12 billion-dollar promotion.
Wu claims that Dana White now has some competition
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When asked about his thoughts on how the PFL would fare against the $12.1 billion-worth UFC, Khai Wu mentioned that Dana White’s promotion now has to compete with Donn Davis’s promotion. For a long time, the UFC was the dream destination for MMA fighters. However, the emergence of the PFL has changed the landscape of the sport. Wu further stated, “I think competition is good, you know. I think UFC has competition now.”
Furthermore, ‘The Shadow’ also stated that the PFL has an advantage in terms of growing as a promotion. He believes that they have captured the attention of a certain section of the audience, who may not necessarily like what the UFC has to offer them. Khai Wu believes this is what is going to elevate the sport of MMA. “There’s enough people who might not like the UFC product that would switch over this… [It’s] just gonna elevate the bar,” said the new PFL signee.
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The PFL gained mainstream traction after signing former UFC champion Francis Ngannou. They followed it up by signing a couple more former UFC fighters as well. As Khai Wu mentioned during the ES exclusive interview, they might be looking to offer something different from what the UFC has in store for the fans. We will have to wait and see how things pan out for Donn Davis’ promotion in the months and years to come.
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