"Too good of a deal for me to pass up" - Shane Burgos signs with PFL in a deal that the UFC "couldn't" match

Shane Burgos fought out the last bout on his UFC contract in July 2022, beating Charles Jourdain on the main card of UFC on ABC: Ortega vs. Rodriguez. Now he's announced a month later that he's signed with the Professional Fight League.

In a new interview with The MMA Hour, Burgos explained why he left the UFC on a two-fight win streak to join the upstart PFL.

"I went out there, I tested the free agency market, and I'm excited to announce I'm signing with the PFL. It was not an easy decision, it was just an offer I couldn't turn it up. I got two daughters, I gotta go home and look them in the face and say it's worth it when all is said and done in this sport. With this deal, I feel that will secure that. But not taking anything away from my UFC career. Man, eleven fights in the UFC? That was a dream when I was fourteen years old ... The UFC's given me this opportunity, this platform, to be able to be in this position now and secure the deal that I just secured with PFL."

Shane Burgos didn't go too deep into the financial details of the deal, but said the pay difference was significant.

"They [the UFC] couldn't [match]. It was that good of a deal. It still wasn't an easy decision ... Absolutely [it's the most I've made ever]. If it was close, it was relatively close the first time, it wasn't that big of a difference. It was six figure difference back then, what I was gonna get paid from the PFL, and I turned that down to stay with the UFC. Now it's obviously bigger than that ... It's still not an easy decision because money isn't everything, but just that financial security means a lot."

Watch Shane Burgos' full interview on The MMA Hour below:

The PFL is gaining a reputation for paying former UFC fighters pretty well. In addition to hosting multiple million dollar tournaments, the PFL also paid Anthony Pettis $750,000 per fight, Rory MacDonald $250,000 per fight, Jeremy Stephens $100,000 to show and $100,000 to win.

Shane Burgos leaves the UFC with a 8-3 record (15-3 MMA) ranked at No.14 in the featherweight division.

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Shane Burgos said not testing free agency would be "negligent"

Shane Burgos is one of a growing number of UFC fighters that have gotten the opportunity to test the waters of free agency. While many fighters have made it clear that they want to re-sign with the UFC, Burgos said that not fielding offers from other promoters would be "disrespectful" to his family.

At the UFC on ABC post-fight press conference, Shane Burgos said:

“I love being in the UFC. I love being a UFC fighter. But it doesn’t make sense for me to not ‘test the waters,’ but we’ll see what they come back with. It would be negligent of me and disrespectful to my family to not even hear other numbers, and I would love to hear some other numbers. I’m not going to be sitting back for four or five months waiting for a deal, but yeah, you want to throw some numbers at me, I’m definitely open to listen.”

In the past, the UFC rarely allow fighters to fight out their contracts. High-profile fighters would be re-signed with one or two fights left on their contract. However, after their methods of avoiding free agency were criticized in an antitrust lawsuit, the UFC has made it a point to allow more fighters to finish their contracts and then field offers from other promotions.

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