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Bryan
Battle could not ask for more in terms of a promotional
debut.
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 29 winner and
Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran will draw his first
assignment under the
Professional Fighters League flag when he meets former Bellator
MMA titleholder Johnny
Eblen in the
PFL Pittsburgh main event on Saturday at the UPMC Events
Center. It signals a new chapter in Battle’s life and career.
“I’ll tell you what, it feels so good to be with the PFL,” he told
Sherdog.com. “I wish I could’ve fought sooner. I’m happy to be
here, and I’m ready to rock and roll. I’m ready to compete. I’m
hungry. I’m ready to get after it. I’m happy that the first fight
is here.”
After departing from the UFC on the heels of a tumultuous,
up-and-down tenure with the company, Battle found a new home in the
PFL. His only mission now? Thrill the audience.
“It’d be hard to get away with a script like this in Hollywood,”
Battle said. “It’s just off the rip. Forget the numbers. The
numbers are there for the fans. Just getting to fight a guy of
Johnny’s caliber, getting to go against a guy like that with what
he’s done and what he’s accomplished, that fires me up. Getting to
come here to the PFL [and] get a main event in Pittsburgh against
Johnny, that’s really cool. There’s just not a whole lot to not
like about being here. I’m just ready to come in. After how long
I’ve had to wait, I’m ready to f—ing captivate the people
again.”
Battle already finds himself in the Top 10 rankings of the PFL
middleweight division and sees plenty of opportunities ahead.
He wants to send a message to the rest of the weight class.
“It is a really deep division,” Battle said. “People don’t give it
enough credit for how deep it is and how solid the talent is. The
185-pound division in the PFL matches up very well with any other
185-pound division on the planet. This is where I’m at. I’ve got to
come in and f—ing let people know who the man is now. I’ve got to
come in and f—ing mark my territory. I’m pretty stoked. It’s
going to be different. The PFL is putting a lot of faith in me, and
I get to come in and skip the line. But I have to deliver. We’ve
seen a lot of guys come over and sleep on the competition level in
the PFL and come in and get smacked, but I refuse to let that
happen to me. I am not sleeping on anybody. I’m not looking past
anybody. I’m just grateful for the opportunity and looking to make
the most of it.”
‘Expect a good show’
Battle plans to put on a show for those in attendance.
“You got a high-IQ fighter coming in,” he said. “I’m going to go in
there and put on pressure, make my reads, assess and act on him. No
hesitation. Just f—ing go. If something happens, if he catches me
along the way, if I die, I die, but it’s not hesitation. We see an
opening, f—ing go for it. So that’s what Pittsburgh should
expect. At the end of the day, when ‘The Butcher’ is on the card,
you expect a good show.”
The path could not be clearer for the North Carolina-based Battle,
who steps into the spotlight on the strength of back-to-back
victories over Kevin
Jousset and Randy
Brown. He has not lost in more than three years.
“The vision I have for while I’m in the PFL: I want to come in,
make highlights and make memories. Create moments, get the belt and
then bring the belt back to Charlotte,” Battle said. “It’s been a
while since I’ve fought in Charlotte, but I want to bring the PFL
back, bring the title back to Charlotte and defend it in Charlotte.
Let’s make these fights happen. Let’s make it happen, and let’s
make some money.”