Why former PFL champ Gadzhi Rabadanov isn’t chasing title shot

For the past two years, Gadzhi Rabadanov has been a staple in the Professional Fighters League’s lightweight division, competing in back-to-back tournaments, winning in the 2024 PFL Season. Although he came up short last year, losing in the championship to Alfie Davis, Rabadanov is ready to move forward and get back to being the best version of himself under the new format with sans tournament and new division rankings.

Rabadanov returns to action May 2 at PFL Sioux Falls in a co-main event showdown against former PFL Europe champion Aleksandr Chizov, a big time matchup for both parties. Speaking to Sherdog.com ahead of his fight, Rabadanov expressed his excitement for the change in format, as well as his approach for his path back into the title picture.

“I’m excited; after I had surgery, I rested, recovered and now I’m very healthy,” Rabadanov said. I’m very excited to be back in the cage again. I think the time off since my last fight has helped me. In the last two years, it was so hard. A lot of fighting, a lot of weight cutting, and now eight months after surgery, I’m back and it’s helped me. I feel good, I feel rested and I’m ready. I’m hungry like I was before.”

After winning the 2024 PFL lightweight tournament, Rabadanov surprised some by entering the tournament this past year, but he was determined to keep showcasing his greatness. Now that the tournaments are a thing of the past, Rabadanov is grateful for the experience, but happy to be able to move at his own pace moving forward.

“It was a good experience for me, but it was so hard. If the PFL did this again, I would not come back to the tournament again. The last two years, I had to kill myself to stay active, I was killing my body, it was so hard. I want to say thank you to the PFL, because I got to stay very busy over the last two years. I got to make plenty of money and I got plenty of experience. This was a big experience for me and the success I had as well. I stay thankful to the PFL and their entire team.”

When discussing his upcoming opponent, Rabadanov said he did his homework on Chizov, respecting what he’s done on the PFL Europe circuit, expecting a great fight between them.

“Chizov is a very good opponent, he’s a good fighter. He has good boxing, good striking and he became the PFL Europe champion. He’s tough. I watched his fights; he’s a very good opponent for me but I think I’m much more of a universal fighter than him. My striking skill is much better, my power, my hands -- I think are better than his.”