I nearly stopped my MMA career but now I’m in a $100,000 winner-take-all finale fight… and this is just a warm up
FRANS MLAMBO has beaten the urge to retire from MMA in the past - now it is on the brink of paying off.
The Irish bantamweight has been a staple of MMA in Europe in recent years, fighting out of Conor McGregor's home of the Straight Blast Gym.
But Mlambo has suffered inconsistent runs in his career, sometimes going years without a fight.
And it left him considering hanging up the gloves on more than one occasion.
Mlambo, 32, told SunSport: “There’s been loads of times.
"Throughout the years there’s actually been a few times where that’s happened.
"I’ve thought, ‘This sport is flipping stupid. I’m working too hard and not getting the returns.’
"If I was working that hard doing something else I don’t feel like it would be the same.
“A few times I thought I’d stop but the only reason I didn’t stop was because I’d already worked too hard at it. I had to see it through."
But Mlambo finally got the opportunity he deserved this year when he signed for the Professional Fighters League, a rival to the UFC.
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And he entered their three-stage PFL Europe tournament, where $100,000 is up for grabs and the chance to enter the $1m global season.
Mlambo is now in the finale fight in his home of Ireland on Friday.
He said: "I’m after doing back-to-back wins and I’m in a final the PFL are hyping me up something crazy.
“I appreciate that and it’s not something any organisation has done, which I felt I deserved."
Mlambo, on a seven-fight win streak, faces German Khurshed Kakhorov, 31, in the winner-take-all final.
But he warned victory will only spark the beginning as he has his eyes on the PFL's $1m prize in the future.
He said: “The hundred grand isn’t really going to change much when there’s a million out there. That’s a whole different story.
“We’re trying to get there and we’re on that path now but this is just a warm up. This isn’t the end by any means.”
