Usman Nurmagomedov is the hottest free agent on the MMA market. Yet PFL CEO John Martin assures there’s more to the story than meets the eye when it comes to the current status of his promotion’s reigning lightweight champion.
Nurmagomedov, 28, finished out his PFL contract in July with a first-round knockout of Archie Colgan to secure the second defense of his PFL lightweight title. While the fight could end up being Nurmagomedov’s last with PFL, Martin said Wednesday in-studio on “The Ariel Helwani Show” that Nurmagomedov first has a 90-day exclusive negotiation window with PFL.
As a result, Martin said, no communication between the UFC and Nurmagomedov has occurred yet. The PFL boss dismissed any rumors stating otherwise as “misinformation.”
“The UFC has not given him an offer,” Martin told Uncrowned. “They’re not legally allowed to. We have an exclusive negotiating period. We’re putting together an offer, and we’re going to sit down and talk with them. I think our offer will be competitive.
“It’s really up to him. We would love to have him. We would love to keep him. There’s still enough competition in the PFL, and we’ll be getting in more and more fighters in to where we can keep him competitively challenged over the next several years.”
Coincidentally, Martin’s PFL journey as CEO began almost a year ago, around the time of Nurmagomedov’s title rematch against Paul Hughes in October 2025. He recalled being extremely impressed by the performance — a unanimous decision for Nurmagomedov — after the pair’s previous tightly contested first encounter.
At this stage, Martin feels even more justified in his beliefs about Nurmagomedov’s position within the lightweight division on a global scale.
“I do have to say, it’s a little bit funny. … I started saying a year ago, ‘This guy is one of the best lightweights in the world,’ and I think people were almost mocking me,” Martin said.
“The original speculation was that he wouldn’t even be top 15 in the UFC. Well, then you’re not watching what I’m watching, and I’m not being overly biased. Now, I find it kind of ironic that he is being paraded around like he’s the salvation of mixed martial arts. I mean, he’s a terrific talent, and we would love to keep him and work with him. We’d love for him to be a meaningful part of our promotion.
“If he chooses that, [if] that’s not the path he wants to take, then we have a lot of great fighters here, and it’s a dynamic ecosystem.”
If this past weekend was any indication, gamesmanship is already being played by the UFC in regards to Nurmagomedov’s early free agency. The PFL champion was in attendance at UFC 330 this past Saturday in Philadelphia to support his teammate, UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev. Throughout the week, Nurmagomedov was seen in UFC promotional material and even received an on-screen spotlight during the UFC 330 broadcast. Rather than receiving a label as “PFL lightweight champion,” the UFC listed Nurmagomedov on-screen as the last Bellator lightweight champion.
From Martin’s perspective, it’s all specific tactics made by the UFC, which he finds to be a fun part of the sport.
“That was all staged. That was all bulls***,” Martin said. “I mean, come on. To parade him around, put him on the screen. I laugh at all of this. It’s all kinds of fun and games and funny.
“I’m up for all of this. It’s fun. It’s a part of the sport.”
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