After missing weight for both his fights under the PFL banner, and being pulled from Thursday’s PFL 5 card, former UFC talent Efrain Escudero appears to have been banished from the Professional Fighters League.
Uniondale, NY — Make no mistake, the PFL’s inaugural season has been a success in the cage thus far. Five fight cards into the year, and the finishing rate continues to hover around 70%. The fights have been exciting, and fighters appear to be buying into the concept. That’s not to say things have gone off without a hitch — injuries, weird finishes (we’re looking at you, low-blow TKO victory of Thiago Tavares at PFL 2), and the like will plague any promotion. Then there’s the pair of blown weight cuts by Efrain Escudero, something PFL President of Fighter Operations Ray Sefo addressed following PFL 5.
“It didn’t ruin tonight, tonight everybody came out and fought,” he said of the impact of losing Escudero from the card. “So I was excited about that and happy about that.” While the former UFC and Bellator athlete was able to compete at PFL 2 after missing weight (submitting Jason High in another controversial finish), he was not able to compete on Thursday in Long Island.
The normally laid back Sefo was brusque when addressing Escudero’s lack of professionalism. “In terms of what Efrain did, it’s absolutely unprofessional. I can tell you a hundred percent, anybody that comes like that will never fight for PFL again.”
Carlos Silva, PFL President, added that “there’s a reason why we put out rules and regulations. It’s a league, it’s a sport, and if you read the rule book, it says that if you miss weight, you don’t get any points, and if the commission allows, you can fight. But if you miss weight a second time, you’re out of the league.”
So Escudero is out of the league, then. Which shouldn’t put too much of a damper on an otherwise successful night — and it may open up an opportunity for another lightweight in the playoffs.
You can view the full post-fight press scrum from PFL 5 with Ray Sefo and Carlos Silva above!
