Don’t expect to see the same Jay-Jay Wilson this Friday at the 2025 PFL 3 show in Orlando, Florida.
Wilson missed all of 2024 after one of the strangest USADA suspensions ever. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspended “The Maori Kid” three months after he tested positive for metenolone and its metabolites in April of 2024, at the start of that year’s PFL season. However, testing proved that he’d been the victim of a contaminated vape pen, after sharing a vape with a non-PFL athlete friend.
Given the extensive testing required, Wilson’s case wasn’t wrapped until earlier this year. He was immediately in the clear to return to action, allowing him to get back to work in the lightweight division as part of the PFL World Tournament.
“Sometimes you just run into bad luck, and I guess it was my turn to have bad luck. But I took that time to improve,” Wilson (10-1) told Cageside Press during the PFL 3 media day on Wednesday. “I was training with some of the best guys in the world helping them all get ready for their fights. I didn’t stop improving the whole time, and you’re going to see a whole different fighter on Friday night.”
Wilson was also a keen observer of the 2024 PFL season, keeping a close eye on the field. As much as the format has changed for 2025 (no more points, a grand prix format, and prize money reduced, though still a solid $500,000 U.S.), he also knew he’d be facing at least some of the names involved upon his return.
“I was definitely watching. I wanted to see, because I knew I was going to be returning, so I definitely wanted to see how the fights were going,” he admitted. As it turns out, the only fighter Jay-Jay Wilson has ever lost to in professional MMA won the season in 2024: Gadzhi Rabadanov.
“Gadzhi definitely went out there last year and performed, so I’m exited to go out this year, get my rematch against him, and take the world title this year,” Wilson exclaimed. First, however, Wilson will have to get past Mads Burnell.
Watch Jay-Jay Wilson’s full 2025 PFL 3 media day appearance above.
