Mexican featherweight Brahyan Zurcher, returning to the PFL Challenger Series this week, started his fighting career following in the footsteps of his uncle, who had his own run in combat sports as a successful Muay Thai fighter.
The money, however, wasn’t there, and instead, Zurcher (4-0) transitioned to MMA, picking up his brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu along the way. Training with Xtreme Couture, Zurcher has also been able to work alongside another Mexican standout — UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno.
With Moreno having reclaimed gold recently, and fellow Mexican star Alexa Grasso challenging for gold this weekend, Zurcher doesn’t need to look far for inspiration these days.
“It’s crazy. I get to train side-by-side with Brandon Moreno when he’s in camp. Like you mentioned, he’s very inspiring, you know?” Zurcher told Cageside Press in a recent exclusive interview. “I see everything that they do, and then I look at myself, and everything that I’m doing is not a lot different. I’m just following the steps of these guys, and I want to do what they’re doing for us. I want to bring more eyes into Mexican mixed martial arts, and at one point of course be a world champion like they are.”
Step one could very well be landing in the PFL’s regular season. Zurcher will have that opportunity once again this Friday, as he returns to action after debuting in the league last year. While he picked up the win, Zurcher was denied a contract on last year’s Challenger Series, though given his lack of experience, that didn’t surprise him.
“What I think they’re looking for, of course, a win, and a finish. I wasn’t very surprised I didn’t get the contract last year,” said Zurcher. “What do you expect, a guy with only two or three fights going into the season with the fighters they have — you know, the featherweight division is probably one of the most stacked weight classes in the world, not just the PFL.”
“So I wasn’t very surprised, but I was very happy that I was one of the candidates to get the contract.” Zurcher knows that the same situation could arise this Friday, with the league wanting him to get more seasoning. That said, “of course I’m going into the cage, give my everything, get a great performance, get a finish, and look for the contract.”
The PFL Challenger Series, like Dana White’s Contender Series or ONE Championship’s Warrior Series, is very much a job interview in the cage. The question of whether you look to put on a show, or simply focus on the win, comes up often.
“Every time I step into the cage I’m always looking for a finish. That’s something that I learned,” Zurcher said on that front. “I just go out there and do my job, and my job is to win fights. If the finish comes, it comes, if not, I just go in there and win fights. That’s my job. If I keep winning fights, everything is going to come into place at one point.”
Challenger Series opponent David Evans is, on paper, the toughest test to date for Zurcher. But Zurcher doesn’t feel that’s the case in practice.
“Yeah, he’s my most experienced opponent, but I train at Xtreme Couture, and I get to train with some of the best fighters in the world every single day,” stated Zurcher. “I believe I’ve seen every single style. I train with some of the best grapplers, strikers, and just great fighters overall. I feel like David Evans is nothing special. He of course is a good fighter, that’s why he’s co-headlining with me, but nothing special.”
Zurcher feels Scottie Stockman, who he faced on the show last year, was “a tougher opponent. Better hands, he’s got better wrestling.”
“I’m not underestimating David, but I feel like it’s a good match-up for me. Nothing special.” And, added Zurcher, “once he starts feeling my hands and my kicks, he’s going to turn into a wrestler.” Brahyan believes he’ll have the size advantage and takedown defense to stop Evans’ wrestling — and if Evans does get him down, “he’d better watch his neck and his limbs. I see myself coming out with a win for sure.”
The win could land him in the PFL regular season, which is ultimately the goal for Brahyan Zurcher. “If it’s not this year in the season, 100%, 2024 you will see me there,” he promised, then added “I wouldn’t be surprised if I get my contract this weekend, and this year they call me Rookie of the Year.”
Watch our full interview with PFL Challenger Series featherweight Brahyan Zurcher above. Zurcher faces David Evans this Friday in Orlando, FL.
