Defending PFL welterweight champion Sadibou Sy will always be a student of the game — and when he’s not, it will likely be time to hang up the gloves.
That day is well off in the future, however. Sy believes he’s just hitting his prime, that despite being 10 years into his pro career at age 36.
“The day that I think that I don’t have anything to work on, is that day that I’m going to be like ‘ahh, I’m done,'” Sy (16-6-2, 1NC) told Cageside Press recently.
“I’ve said that, this year and next year, you’re going to start seeing my prime. So I have a lot, a lot, a lot of things to work on,” he added. “I have a lot of things to work on in my striking, but mostly just to put everything together. I want to be able to infuse the Izzy against Sean Strickland fight last weekend, I want to be able to wrestle more, grapple more. I don’t want to be just a striker, basically.”
Sadibou Sy is without question a PFL success story. He’s been with the league since day one, toiling in the welterweight division for years before his breakout season in 2022. The “Swedish Denzel Washington” sits on a seven-fight win streak, and is looking to claim back-to-back PFL titles. That title, he agrees, is the hardest to win and defend in mixed martial arts.
“To fight as often as we do, with everything in this sport — with injuries, with weight cuts, with just life — it’s so intense, it’s so hard,” explained Sy. “I’ve never fought for a UFC championship, for a Bellator championship or whatever. But I know people who have been fighting in PFL and fighting in UFC and a lot of people have said, ‘this schedule will kill you.'”
“You don’t know how intense it is until you’re actually one week after a fight and you already have a new opponent that you have to prepare for. And you have to do that four times. Weight cut four times. In seven months. So yeah, it’s intense, and to be honest, that’s what I love. For me, I always love a challenge. It’s even sweeter just because of that, because it’s so hard and because I know what goes into it.”
The challenge this year comes against Magomed Magomedkerimov, a man Sy has faced before, in the 2021 welterweight semifinal. That bout marks the most recent loss on Sy’s record. He’s clearly improved since, the results evident in his championship victory last year, but questions how much Russia’s Magomedkerimov has.
“He’s been as good as he is. I haven’t seen as much improvement,” stated Sy, adding “but he’s a very well-rounded fighter. But it’s not like there’s anything that I’ve seen that, he’s slipping or he’s getting better or whatever. He’s about the same. That’s why this is very intriguing for me.”
Ultimately, this year’s welterweight final is a chance to show off his own improvements. “I believe this is going to be a perfect opportunity for me to showcase the difference in the level from the last two years,” said Sy.
Watch our full interview with defending PFL welterweight champ Sadibou Sy above. The 2023 PFL Championship takes place in Washington, D.C. on November 24, 2023.
