Louie Sutherland made the bold decision to walk away from his dreams of becoming a professional rugby player, but will now start a new journey by chasing PFL’s illustrious $1million prize.
Sutherland, 28, was signed to the PFL last month and will have the chance to earn a contract for their inaugural European league next year when he fights Abraham Bably in his promotional debut this Saturday. The fight marks a hometown appearance for Sutherland, who was born and bred in Tottenham, as the PFL host their first event in the English capital.
The opportunity to compete in one of the biggest MMA promotions in the world has come around quick for Sutherland, who only made his professional debut in the cage last year. Sutherland was once a talented rugby player in his teenage years, even representing his country and being offered a contract by professional side Glasgow Warriors. Sutherland eventually fell out of love with rugby but was eager to redirect his natural competitiveness into another sport, which led him to finding MMA.
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“I gave my life to rugby every day since I was 11 years old, it was always my aspiration to be a full-time rugby player," Sutherland told Mirror Fighting . "When I dropped down to the National Three level, at the time my son had just been born and I just decided to knock it on the head. I didn’t see myself playing rugby for just the social aspect, I was a bit too serious and competitive for that.”
Sutherland only made his professional MMA debut last August, with the Scot putting together four wins by first-round stoppage in the space of eight months. Although a win against Bably this Saturday won't bank him a spot on PFL's main roster, Sutherland is happy with the position he has found himself in after four fights and has vowed his best is yet to come.
“Now that I’ve signed with the PFL, the money is great," he added. "It’s an extra motivation to be able to say I am getting paid a fair amount and they are trying to look after the fighters. They have the $1million tournament so that carrot is always being dangled, so it’s down to me to push on and chase that.”
“I don’t think I’m in my prime yet, I’m only 28 and I think I’m going to mature as a fighter as time goes on. I’m looking to get paid for what I do as well, I want to feed my kids and make sure I have a comfortable retirement. That’s the truth of it really. If I can take people’s heads off at the same time, if I get paid for snapping necks and cashing checks. That’s the motto at the minute."
