PFL champ Emiliano Sordi wants to inspire kids back home in Argentina

NEW YORK – Emiliano Sordi made history Tuesday night.

Sordi (22-8 MMA, 6-1 PFL) took out Jordan Johnson (12-2-1 MMA, 2-2-1 PFL) in the first round at the 2019 PFL Championship at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York to become the first Argentinian to win a world championship in a major organization.

And Sordi hopes he can inspire kids back home to follow in his footsteps someday.

“I wanted to be the first Argentinian world champion, and it’s an example for other guys and other kids to see that you can make it from there. I hope next season we see more Argentinians in the PFL,” Sordi said through a translator at the post-fight press conference.

It’s been a tough road for Sordi, who’s fallen short on numerous occasions, but kept on fighting. From a short Bellator tenure, to getting choked out in just 26 seconds in Dana White’s Contender Series in 2018, to getting eliminated in last year’s playoffs, Sordi turned things around in 2019.

He went 5-0, with five finishes, en route to capturing the light heavyweight title and $1 million.

One of the things that helped propel him to his run was working with a mental coach.

“He started one month before the tournament started,” Sordi’s translator said. “And his problem was that he get the fights very relaxed, like the opposite of the people who get nervous for the fight, he was very relaxed so he was needing to get in the right point.”