Bryan Battle says divorce, UFC exit hurt preparation before PFL debut

Bryan Battle has opened up about the personal struggles that hindered his preparation for his PFL debut, where he faced a lopsided loss to Johnny Eblen in Pittsburgh in March. The middleweight, who earned his original UFC contract by winning The Ultimate Fighter 29 in 2021, was released from the promotion last year after a streak of weight-cutting issues despite posting a 7-1 record.

Battle revealed to Ariel Helwani that his divorce and UFC exit left him mentally scattered during camp for the Eblen bout. "There was definitely a bit of a learning curve, once again, headlining and fighting a bona fide former world champion," Battle said. "I got divorced. I got cut from the UFC. I was doing the best I could, but I wasn't giving it everything I had because I just had parts of me spread out in different areas of life. Sometimes it takes an ass whooping like that to be like, 'All my eggs are gonna be in one basket.'"

Eblen dominated the fight, repeatedly slamming Battle before forcing a submission via face crank in the first round. Battle (12-3) acknowledged the setback as a harsh lesson in the demands of elite-level competition and has committed to bringing full focus moving forward. He is now scheduled to face Dalton Rosta (11-3) in his second PFL appearance on August 7 at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.