Prospect Watch: Florim Zendeli
· Yahoo Sports
Florim Zendeli ranks as one of the more compelling under-30 talents on the Professional Fighters League roster.
The once-beaten Albanian prospect will take center stage when he meets Logan Storley in the PFL Sioux Falls headliner on Saturday at the Sanford Pentagon in South Dakota. Zendeli, 27, won the PFL Europe welterweight tournament in 2024, then fought only once in 2025. He last competed at PFL Champions Series 3, where he laid claim to a three-round unanimous decision over Omar El Dafrawy on Oct. 3. Zendeli returns to a PFL that now employs a traditional ranking system instead of a tournament format. It should be more conducive to upward mobility.
“The tournament was good because you have everybody who is going up as they’re winning, so the two best fighters in the tournament are fighting each other in the finale, but for me, the rankings system is much better for my situation,” Zendeli told Sherdog.com. “I have time for recovery, time to fight, and you get to see who is where in the rankings, who they’re fighting; and it’s easier to plan, so I like the rankings much more.”
Zendeli understands the reality of his current situation, as he heads into enemy territory against an accomplished opponent. Storley, a former interim Bellator MMA champion, was born in Roslyn, South Dakota, some 165 miles north of Sioux Falls.
“Look, for me, it’s fighting,” Zendeli said. “If I fight in my home or the home of my opponent or any other city, it doesn’t matter. We fight in the cage. The cage is my home. I have respect for all fans of Logan Storley and also have respect for Logan Storley, but I am just going in there for a fight. I’m going in there for a win.”
A world class welterweight clash headlines PFL Sioux Falls: Tune in Saturday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The confrontation with Storley offers Zendeli a chance to test his wrestling skills against a man who was a four-time NCAA All-American at the University of Minnesota.
“Logan and I fighting is like one in the same,” he said. “He’s also a wrestler with good striking, and me, too. I’m more of a wrestler. I have a little bit better striking, but for me, it doesn’t matter whether it’s striking or wrestling. I am ready for a fight. This is MMA. I think I’m much better than him everywhere. Our wrestling is going to be a good match because I come from a mountain. My wrestling is not from college; it’s from a mountain. It’s going to be a hard night for Logan. He’s going to see.”
This marks Zendeli’s first appearance in the United States, and as he prepares to introduce himself to a new audience, he wants only to be seen as a fighter who chases the biggest challenges.
“I come from a small city in Albania and when I was there, I didn’t have a gym or anything,” he said. “I come here to the States just for the high level of fighters and opponents, and I’d just like the fans to respect me for that. I came from nothing to be in the United States, to become world champion and to fight the high-level guys.”
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