A controversial loss last time out has left Canadian lightweight Michael (The Canadian Badass) Dufort "more motivated than ever" going into his Professional Fighters League semifinal bout Friday in Hollywood, Fla.
Unlike other mixed martial arts promotions, the PFL schedule incorporates a regular season and playoffs with fighters awarded points for wins and finishes.
Dufort's playoff hopes were left up in the air after a split-decision loss (28-29, 28-29, 29-28) to American Adam (The Bomb) Piccolotti on June 21 at PFL 5 in Salt Lake City, in a bout most observers thought the Canadian had won.
According to Cagenomics, which tracks statistics for the PFL, Dufort outstruck Piccolotti 92-35.
But other results that night went Dufort's way and the 30-year-old from Montreal secured a playoff berth as the third seed against No. 2 Gadzhi Rabadanov of Russia. No. 1 Brent Primus (14-3-0 with one no contest) will face No. 4 (Cassius) Clay Collard (25-13-0 with one contest) on Friday in the other 155-pound semifinal, an all-American matchup, at the Hard Rock Live.
Dufort said the "roller-coaster night" in June has brought out his best.
"Honestly in the training camp (for Rabadanov) I pushed harder than ever because of that loss," he said. "I might even thank Piccolotti after (winning Friday)."
Rabadanov (22-4-1) has won eight straight -- including two victories in the PFL and four in Bellator -- since a December 2022 loss to France's Mehdi Dakaev on an Eagle Fighting Championship card in Moscow.
Dufort, who had won five straight prior to the Piccolotti loss, is hoping to follow in the footsteps of friend and training partner Olivier (The Canadian Gangster) Aubin-Mercier in winning the PFL lightweight title and the US$1-million cheque that goes with it.
Aubin-Mercier retired after winning his second straight PFL lightweight crown in November.
Dufort submitted Mads Burnell in April in his opening fight of the season, forcing the Dane to tap to a guillotine choke 63 seconds into the second round.
His other PFL win came in March 2022 on the PFL Challengers circuit. Dufort followed that with three straight wins outside the promotion before returning for the 2024 season.
In preparing for his third bout in four months, Dufort elected to train at home at Montreal's H2O MMA, rather than at Florida's Kill Cliff Fight Club with fellow PFL fighter Elvin (The Prodigy) Espinoza. He also spent time at Montreal's Tristar Gym.
Still Espinoza, who lost a decision to Rabadanov in June, shared his scouting analysis of the Russian.
"He told me to mainly trust myself, because this guy can be beaten," said Dufort. "And I have all the tools to do so."
Both Dufort and Rabadanov have trained with championship-calibre talent, albeit of the retired variety — Dufort with Aubin-Mercier and former UFC two-division champion Georges St-Pierre and Rabadanov with former UFC lightweight title-holder Khabib Nurmagomedov, like GSP a member of the UFC Hall of Fame.
"I'm there because of them" Dufort said of Aubin-Mercier and St-Pierre, adding: "I want to make them proud."
Dufort expects Rabadanov to use his wrestling skills and try to take the fight to the ground.
"At the end of every round, he's going to try the steal the round with a takedown," said Dufort. "My job will be to make that fight chaos … He's technical. He's very good with his technique. But if there's chaos, his technique isn't going to work."
Dufort grew up playing hockey but was drawn to mixed martial arts by the strategy of the sport.
"It's a beautiful sport when you really try to understand it … It's pure science," he said. "It's very cool."
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2024
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
