Daniel Marcos went 5-1 in the UFC, but the promotion still decided not to offer him a new contract following his win over Miles Johns in November. Six months later, the 18-1 bantamweight was informed of his release and ended up joining the PFL.
Ready for his league debut Saturday against Magomed Magomedov at PFL Tampa, Marcos still has no idea why the UFC wasn’t interested in offering him a new deal. The Peruvian talent lost only once in the UFC, dropping a decision to Montel Jackson in May 2025.
“More than anything, I was surprised,.” Marcos told MMA Fighting. “I asked myself, ‘Why? Why did this happen?’ I had only lost once in my entire career, so I didn’t understand what was going on. As I said, I can’t control what other people decide to do, but I’m still grateful to the UFC for giving me the opportunity and for helping showcase me to the world. But even now, if someone asks me what happened, I don’t have an answer. I honestly don’t know what happened. That’s all I can say.”
The 33-year-old Peruvian talent last fought in November and his release came in late May. Marcos had been training since January in hopes of a new bout, but the offer never came.
“It has been very difficult,” Marcos said. “It’s hard to learn that you’re no longer going to be part of a company. But after everything, I feel much calmer now because I trust God a lot, and I know that what’s coming next will be very good. I still have that desire to prove more of what I’m capable of. I still have the energy and motivation to show that I belong among the elite and that I still had much more to offer. I have many ways to show everything I can do, but things happened this way and I respect everyone’s decision.”
MMA Fighting broke the news of his departure on May 29, and PFL reached out to his management team the following day with an offer to sign him to a multi-fight deal. Marcos said a Russian-based MMA promotion also expressed interest in signing him, but PFL was quicker to get the deal done.
“The opportunity with the PFL came as soon as I was told there would be no contract renewal with the UFC,” Marcos said. “It all happened very fast. These are things I can’t control, and I still don’t know why everything happened with my previous UFC contract. I’m happy to be part of a new organization like the PFL, which opened its doors to me. At the same time, regarding the UFC, I feel like I still had a lot more to give. Right now, I’m staying focused and keeping my eyes on what lies ahead.”
“My focus immediately turned to the PFL because they came knocking right away,” he continued. “I said to myself, ‘I’m not going to waste an opportunity that’s being presented to me.’ It was the opportunity in front of me, and I took it.”
Magomedov won a decision over Leandro Higo in his most recent bout to rebound from a knockout defeat to Sergio Pettis. Marcos said, “my approach is always to come out aggressively and assert my dominance in every aspect of the fight” at PFL Tampa. Victorious in 18 of 19 bouts as a professional, Marcos is already aiming for PFL gold.
“I always look ahead,” Marcos said. “I always look at the guys at the top. The way I think is to look at the No. 1 guy, and that’s Pettis. Pettis is at the top. I want to have that belt around my waist as soon as possible, whenever the opportunity comes. I’ve signed a multi-fight deal with the PFL, and I’m very hungry. I’m hungry to show my skills and let the world see everything I’m capable of.”
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