Mad Burnell believes that if you are a true fighter, the Professional Fighters League is the ideal place to compete.
Burnell will face Clay Collard in the main event of PFL 5 on June 21 at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The card, which features bouts at lightweight and light heavyweight, will be the promotion’s debut in Utah. For Burnell, this marks his return to the ring a little more than two months after making his PFL debut in April.
Newcomers to the PFL often have a hard time getting used to the frequency of fights, but Burnell loves the fast pace. The PFL’s seasonal format sees fighters from six weight classes compete in two bouts during the regular season, with a semifinal and final to determine who advances to a playoff with $1 million at stake. The seasonal format, which combines pay-per-view cards with Bellator events, keeps PFL fighters more active than most other promotions. Burnell believes the PFL is for true fighters who are just keen to compete, rather than hand-picking their opponents.
“I love it. I love that they respond quickly and I don’t have to wait three or six hours. [months]”No matter how long you have to wait between fights, it’s the same thing,” Burnell said on a recent media conference call. “I think more promotions should do this. Why the hell do we fight? We fight because it’s fun. We love it. Of course we want to fight and we want to get paid, right? So instead of being picky, you just show up and fight. So yeah, I love the tournament format of the PFL. I think it’s super cool. And especially if you’re a real fighter and you just want to get involved, the PFL is 100% the place to go.”
Burnell will remain with the PFL after it acquires Bellator in November 2023. Burnell moved up to lightweight for his PFL debut in April, but a two-fight winning streak came to an end with a second-round submission loss to Michael Dufort. But the Danish prospect felt at home in his new weight class.
“The biggest takeaway is how great I felt moving up a weight class,” Burnell said. “I’ve never felt better going into that fight and cutting weight, so I guess the biggest takeaway is how good I felt at lightweight.”
