With PFL Playoffs time, comes an opportunity for another star to be born. Canada’s Michael Dufort will look to become PFL’s new lightweight king with his first playoff matchup set for August 16, 2024. The card can be viewed on ESPN+ along with other lightweight and light heavyweight key playoff matchups.
Finding MMA and Early Career
Like many MMA fighters, Dufort decided to give combat sports a try along with a group of friends. “I started because I had friends at school that were doing it in classes and it looked pretty cool to me. So I just got in and eventually was just natural at it so I continued while everybody else stopped,” Dufort told MYMMANEWS. Along the way, Dufort would discover the coaching staff necessary to improve his game.
“The coach I started with (Chris Deschatelet) got me hooked and gave me that mental toughness. Eventually coaches I grew up with like Richard helped me a lot too to stay in fit. I moved to Montreal, and at first stayed at his house. Those two coaches developed the fighter I am today,” said Dufort. Dufort would begin his amateur career in November 2010, lasting almost two years. In that timeframe, six of his seven wins would come by the submission, all in the first round. It was time for his professional debut on March 17, 2012, at Ringside MMA 13.
Professional Career and Joining PFL
After experiencing the early growing pains of switching from the amateur to pro ranks, Dufort would go on to win six after dropping his first two by decision. All six wins came by a finish with five by submission. Showing he conquered the learning curve early, Dufort finished all five of those submissions in the first round. March 2022 would see Dufort make his first PFL showing when he competed on the PFL Challenger Series 2022. He would go on to defeat Arut Pogosjan via second round submission. Pogosjan was previously on a three-fight unbeaten streak.
Two huge back-to-back wins after his Challenger Series would secure Dufort’s spot as an absolute dangerous threat to win the PFL tournament in the future. In April 2022, Dufort would go on to defeat UFC veteran Luis Pena via first-round submission at Ares Fight Series 16 and would then defeat another UFC veteran in Joe Giannetti by first round submission as well at Cage Titans 61 in September 2022.
Huge Victories In Career
With almost half of his submission victories coming by the guillotine, it’s no secret what Dufort’s weapon of choice will be in the PFL cage. “I hunt the guillotine. Sometimes too much but so far it pays off,” said Dufort. Dufort feels winning the PFL championship will prove to be one of the toughest tasks in all of MMA. “It’s unique. It makes it the most difficult belt to win in the MMA world. Not a lot of people can fight four times in seven months,” said Dufort.
Set to face Gadzhi Rabadanov (22-4-2) in the PFL playoffs, a win for Dufort would put him in the driver’s seat for PFL gold. Rabadanov is on an eight-fight winning streak, but does have a losses on his record, one being via submission. Dufort stated the submission is what fans can expect. If so, expect the crowd to explode over the big win.
