PFL 2025 World Tournament One to Watch: Brent Primus

On the same night that the Professional Fighters League middleweight tournament gets started, the lightweights will also get their chance to shine. It makes PFL 2025 World Tournament 3 on Friday at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, one of the company’s most anticipated events of the year. The 155-pound bracket features plenty of recognizable names, including 2024 PFL champion Gadzh Rabadanov, former Bellator MMA titleholder Brent Primus and onetime PFL title challenger Clay Collard.

In a stacked field, there are no walk-in-the-park fights. All eight men will be tested from the beginning. The strength of the lightweight draw means no clear-cut favorite can be identified, but one battle-tested fighter should be viewed as someone with good odds to win it all. Look no further than the aforementioned Primus, a 2024 finalist.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the PFL World Tournament LIVE Friday, April 18 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+.

While many may be quick to dismiss the 40-year-old Primus, his advanced age only means he has more experience than most; and he has already been to the mountaintop as a world champion. Primus could also benefit from a late change in opponent, as his quarterfinal matchup switched from Alexandr Shabliy to Vinicius Sacchelli Cenci. His path could not be clearer. A victory over Cenci would push Primus into a semifinal showdown with the Collard-Alfie Davis winner. There, he would be a reasonable choice to advance to the championship, no matter the opponent. The tournament format suits Primus and his wrestling base, which theoretically affords him the ability to take fights wherever he wants. Above all else, he possesses the kind of big-fight experience some others do not.

Depending on how the chips fall, Primus could secure an opportunity to rematch Rabadanov—the man to whom he lost in the 2024 final. Primus proved he still had championship mettle, and even though that bout did not go his way, there’s no reason to believe he has taken a step back since. If anything, Primus figures to be as motivated as ever, especially with plenty of doubters on his heels.

All eight lightweights in the tournament are dangerous and skilled, but not all of them have been professionals for 15 years. That distinction goes to Primus. He has pretty much seen it all inside the cage, and the tournament setting encourages him to fight his fight and make the most of the opportunity in front of him. While Rabadanov likely enters the competition as the rightful favorite, it would be foolish to write off Primus as if he does not have a legitimate shot to become champion.