UFC President Dana White has provided insight as to why the promotion didn’t match the PFL‘s offer to sign featherweight Shane Burgos to a new contract.
Burgos signed a deal to join the PFL this week in a shocking move in free agency. Burgos had fought out his UFC contract and the promotion opted to let him test the waters instead of re-signing him in the middle of his prime.
Burgos, arguably one of the most exciting featherweights in the sport, had ingratiated himself with UFC fans after recent wars with Charles Jourdain and Billy Quarantillo. He rebounded in a big way after back-to-back losses to Josh Emmett and Edson Barboza and appeared to be moving in the right direction in his career.
Despite his recent successes in the UFC, Burgos signed a mega deal with the PFL that the UFC couldn’t match. Some critics of White and the UFC accused them of being cheap when it came to retaining fighters and ended up paying the price for it in the form of Burgos.
While White usually has the final say when it comes to matchmaking matters, the decision to not match the PFL’s offer to Burgos wasn’t entirely his.
Dana White Expresses Regret Over The UFC Letting Shane Burgos Walk
During a recent interview with Yahoo! Sports, White revealed what led to Burgos not re-signing with the UFC.
“That’s a good question,” White answered. “How do I answer that question? Basically, there were some mistakes that were made here, some shit that… he should have still been here. I respect him very much and I wish him the best. A hundred percent [mistakes were made on the UFC side]. A hundred percent. Big mistakes were made over here.”
Burgos debuted in the UFC in Dec. 2016, earning a unanimous decision win over Tiago Trator. Before that, he enjoyed successful stints in Cage Fury and XFE before making the move to the UFC Octagon.
Burgos’ PFL debut has yet to be announced but he’s expected to appear in the league later this year, potentially on the PFL Championships card. While White and the UFC lost out on Burgos this time around, don’t be surprised if they attempt to lure him back to the Octagon once his PFL deal is up.
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