Shamil Musaev was on top of the PFL world when its 2024 campaign concluded.
And then? Silence.
For a full year-plus, Musaev (20-0-1) has been inactive, though ready to compete, he told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. It remains a bit unclear why his absence occurred, but he said he wasn’t overly bothered by it.
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“I’m happy to see you guys as well,” Musaev said through a Russian-language interpreter. “Everything is going well. I finally got the opponent, got the date. Everything is going smooth, step-by-step. I’m getting in there and trying to get to fight day.”
“… I was home, pretty much training. The date and the opponent was changing. I was hoping to get in the grand prix again in 2025, but the style of the tournaments was a little bit changed. It was champion of Bellator vs. champion of (PFL) grand prix. I finally got this, and I’m excited to finally step back in the cage. I was pretty much ready the whole time, but there wasn’t confirmation about what was going on – but I was ready pretty much. I was enjoying time home. Everything was all right, just spending time with family and training.”
Musaev wrecked the competition during the PFL’s final year of doing a season format. He finished three of his four fights en route to PFL gold, including a violent knockout of then-17-0 beast Magomed Umalatov in the final.
Fifteen months later at PFL: Road to Dubai, Musaev will compete in an unofficial title unification bout of sorts as he battles the final Bellator welterweight champion ever, Ramazan Kuramagomedov (13-0), for the vacant PFL welterweight title.
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“The opponent is a super opponent, the toughest you can find: undefeated, a champion,” Musaev said. “I’m expecting a very tough fight. It’s hard to think what could be happening in the fight, but I’m excited for five rounds. Feb. 7, we’ll see who is going to be the champion in that night. I’m ready for anything.”
Every promotion outside the UFC could use homegrown talent figures to hang their hats on. PFL is no different. An exciting finisher like Musaev has the ability to break through to some casual viewers through his performance and he thinks Feb. 7 at Coca-Cola Arena he’ll be able to do just that.
“I’m fighting for the belt,” Musaev said. “It says it all, pretty much. I’m the guy that really PFL can push and promote.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: PFL champ who went M.I.A. answers where he’s been
