PFL event in Asia? A matter of ‘when, not if’ says exec Loren Mack

Loren Mack, PFL’s vice President of Corporate Communications. –CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Professional Fighters League (PFL), an American mixed martial arts promotion, is confident of extending its reach to broader Asia sometime soon.

After successfully dealing with an expansion in Europe, the PFL is already looking to bring shows to Asia, a continent where several MMA outfits are thriving, in the near future.

“It’s not a matter of ‘if,’ but ‘when’ we’re going to have an event in the Philippines and broader Asia. The first step is to get Biaggo Ali Walsh out to Asia and the Philippines is one of those stops and he’s really excited to visit and obviously see where his grandfather fought,” said Loren Mack, PFL’s vice President of Corporate Communications, in an exclusive interview with INQUIRER.net.

Walsh was a former American Football player before signing with the PFL last year. He started out hot by knocking out Tom Graesser in the first round in their December affair.

Mack said Ali Walsh would be instrumental in introducing the federation to the Philippines, where his legendary grandfather met Frazier back in 1975 for the iconic “Thrilla in Manila.”

Europe will have its first taste of PFL action in August when PFL 8 rolls around. It will feature a collision between WIll Fleury and Kenneth Bergh in the Light heavyweight division.

London will also enjoy MMA action on August 20 for PFL 9. British Muay Thai fighter Dakota Ditcheva takes on Hassna Jaber in a women’s flyweight competition.

If the PFL does indeed reach more Asian fans, that would mean it would call on Asian fighters to compete, including a long line of tremendous Filipino competitors.

“We’re in quite a bit of discussions with fighters from the PH and again, it’s not a matter of if but when. Filipino fighters are some of the best fighters in the world. Right now, where the PFL is at, the floodgates have opened and a lot of athletes have come towards wanting to sign in the PFL and rightfully so,” Mack bared.

“We’ve been in a lot of discussions with different managers and fighters directly from the Philippines and I hope within the next few weeks we can make those announcements regarding key signings from the PH  and broader Asia,” he added.

THE JAKE PAUL EFFECT

FILE PHOTO: Fighter Jake Paul. Reuters/Andrew Couldridge/File Photo

While Mack did not specify who PFL has had done-deals with, he made it sure to mention one of the promotion’s biggest acquisitions in Jake Paul.

Paul, a huge internet personality who took his talents in the boxing ring for a 6-0 professional, struck a deal with the PFL last month in a “ludicrous” deal.

“We have even bigger signings to announce later this year, we hit the ground running with Jake Paul. In 2023, we’re definitely going to see Jake Paul in the PFL SmartCage,” assured Mack.

There are currently no scheduled fights for the Youtube star but he made it clear in several interviews that he wants to compete inside the octagon.

Other than Paul and a number of Asian fighters, Mack said PFL is looking for ways to find and sign the hottest free agents in the MMA scene.

“I don’t want to overstep my bounds and specifically say which fighters we’ve talked to. There’s a lot of hot free agents out right now and I can assure that every single one of them has been contacted by the PFL.”