PFL’s newest addition to the broadcast team, Kenny Florian, is looking forward to calling one division in particular.
Florian, who will commentate the 2021 season alongside UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture and 2018 PFL light heavyweight champion Sean O’Connell, is excited for the stacked welterweight division.
The Season 1 “Ultimate Fighter” finalist and three-time UFC title challenger is especially high on 2018 PFL champ Magomed Magomedkerimov, and he’s intrigued to see how he stacks up against this season’s talent.
“I think the PFL’s welterweight division is pretty bananas,” Florian told MMA Junkie Radio. “There’s a ton of good guys in that division. Magomed Magomedkerimov is someone who kind of reminds me of Fedor (Emelianenko) in his prime back in the day. He probably is even better on the ground in regards to his positioning and his submission skills. His ground-and-pound is brutal. He’s very loose on the feet, throws a lot of big shots and just knows how to put it all together.
“Of course, you have Rory MacDonald, who is very experienced, very good, very big for the division, is dangerous everywhere. He’s going to be motivated here to get the money, get the belt. And, of course, the champ, ‘Bradda Boy’ Ray Cooper, who’s an absolute savage, comes from that wrestling background, (and) already has a ton of experience in the PFL. He has a winning recipe now and he’s going to be tough to deal with. So there’s a bunch of other guys that have a lot of experience coming into this, and I’m really curious to see how it all plays out.”
Last season, Magomedkerimov was en route to a final showdown with Ray Cooper before an illness forced him out of the bout. Cooper faced David Michaud instead, finishing him in the second round to claim the 2019 PFL title.
Welterweights are up in week two of the 2021 PFL season, which takes place April 29 on ESPN2, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes. Magomedkerimov will face Joao Zeferino in the featured prelim, Cooper faces Jason Ponet in the co-main event, and MacDonald debuts against Michaud in the main event.
Kenny Florian looking forward to PFL’s ‘bananas’ welterweight division the most