Marcirley Alves wasn’t meant to be in the PFL bantamweight grand prix in 2025, but now he’s competing for a $500,000 check Friday night in Charlotte.
Alves went 1-1 in the now-defunct Bellator before the company was absorbed by PFL, and he was selected as the alternate for the 135-pound tournament. “Durin” was scheduled to face Vilson Ndregjoni on the April 11 card, but went from early prelims to main event after Josh Rettinghouse, the first replacement for Magomed Magomedov, came in overweight.
He’s
now fighting Justin Wetzell for the bantamweight grand prix title at PFL 9.
“Everybody was so hungry to be on the tournament that I thought, ‘I don’t think any fight gets cancelled,’” Alves told MMA Fighting. “Out of nowhere, during the weigh-ins, they said I was going to do the main event. It was insane. But since I was well-trained and confident, it worked.”
Alves beat -205 favorite Leandro Higo via split decision, and followed it up with another decision win two months later, this time over Jake Hadley, to make it to the finals.
“I came here as the underdog, no one was talking about me, and [Higo] was the favorite to win the grand prix,” Alves said. “He was the toughest one I’ve fought so far — even more than the one I’m about to fight. And if I beat him and the other one I fought in the semifinal, I believe I’ll bring this belt home.”
A former Jungle Fight bantamweight champion, Alves went 11-3 in Brazil before joining Bellator. Fight purses are so low in the regional circuit that the PFL GP prize alone would get him 1,000 times more than fighters usually make in small shows in the country.
Not only that, “Durin” hopes to become a bigger name in the MMA sphere.
“It’s life-changing, right?” Alves said of the championship money. “I’d probably be the youngest millionaire from Bauru [laughs]. I’m 25 now, and would become the first Brazilian to win the PFL belt. I think that will open many doors for me as a person, and in terms of sponsors, which I don’t have yet. I believe many sponsors would come after that.”
Alves plans on paying off his apartment and car if victorious Friday night, plus make smart investments thinking of the future. He said there’s no extra pressure competing for gold, promising his best performance yet since joining PFL.
“[Wetzell] is not a finisher, he likes to lay and pray,” Alves said. “Most of his fights are by decision and that’s what I’m working on. I’ve worked on my cardio a lot because that game is exhausting. I can’t get tired playing his game — but I don’t believe he’ll be able to do that against me. He needs to get near me to do that, and if I put my hands on him, he’s going down. I don’t know if he can handle the pressure I’m putting on him for five rounds.”
