An MMA fighter announced himself to the world with a viral knockout debut at PFL’s latest event. However, he unexpectedly called for a move to the UFC after securing his lone professional MMA win, prompting fans to troll him.

PFL Sioux Falls just concluded in South Dakota, with its marquee fighters headlining the event. But among them, the debutant Brett Bye caught fans’ attention by knocking out his opponent, Taylor Michels, in the first round. Yet, nobody expected the 29-year-old to surprise everyone in the post-fight interview. When the announcer asked, “What’s next?” Bye replied by expressing that he wants to fight in the UFC after winning his first professional fight of his career.

“I said next, I’ll take whatever I can get, but eventually I don’t know, maybe the UFC?” Brett said in the post-fight interview.

Well, that’s definitely a very ambitious request from the PFL fighter who just won his debut pro fight, and it becomes even more ambitious considering his amateur career. He has only six amateur fights under his belt, which resulted in 3 wins and 3 losses. So, it won’t be a stretch to say that résumé likely won’t interest Dana White much, especially with so much competition to get into the UFC.

However, it has happened before that fighters entered the UFC after winning only one professional fight, though it’s very rare. Most notably, Brock Lesnar entered the promotion with only one pro win. Before joining White’s company, ‘The Beast’ defeated Min Soo Kim at K-1 HERO’S via first-round knockout.

For the UFC brass, Lesnar’s knockout power mixed with his NCAA wrestling pedigree was enough to earn him a contract. Eventually, the combat sports icon went on to become the UFC heavyweight champion, defeating names like Randy Couture and Frank Mir. Even so, there’s another example that some fans might find even more surprising.

Pro boxer Art Jimmerson fought in UFC 1 against Royce Gracie without any prior MMA experience and lost the bout via first-round submission.  In that case, it wouldn’t be surprising that the UFC could sign someone with only one pro victory.

Still, after fans heard Brett Bye’s plea, they didn’t waste a single moment before starting to troll the debutant.

PFL fighter faces fan backlash calling for UFC shot after debut MMA win

One fan quickly chimed in and wrote, “PFL fighter Brett Bye calls for a shot in the UFC after his win at #PFLSiouxFalls. 🤣🤣🤣”. Well, the laughing emojis summed up exactly how the fan felt about the entire situation. The reaction was followed by another user writing, “How you gonna ask for a UFC contract in your PFL post-fight, come on man @bbye22, good win tho.”

To be fair, the PFL fighter’s debut definitely made a statement that Bye could turn out to be a talent fans can’t ignore. Yet, his résumé, especially his amateur career with six fights and a 3–3 record, would likely be seen as too small a sample size to fight in the UFC.

Echoing that exact point, a fan wrote, “1-0 with a 3-3 amateur record calling for the UFC is wild.” And it would indeed be an extraordinary feat if the UFC actually signs someone with only one professional MMA victory. Because in today’s era, fighters usually need a near-perfect record and a strong finishing instinct to get into Dana White’s promotion, and sometimes even that isn’t enough.

Taking that into account, another fan wrote, “He gonna be fighting on regional scene now. Basically could have had an easy run at PFL.” Honestly, Bye can focus on building his run in the PFL and then aim for the UFC. There are fighters like Kayla Harrison who made the move after becoming champions in the PFL. So, the 29-year-old could take a similar route, though it’s far from guaranteed.

However, not every fan trolled the debutant. One fan defended Bye’s idea while taking a shot at the UFC’s recent event, writing, “Brett Bye is thinking UFC. Dana White should sign him, that kid is better than half of the #UFCPerth fight card. #PFLSiouxFalls.” Here, the user pointed out how the UFC Perth card faced criticism from fans for being highly underwhelming and boring.

That said, it’s highly unlikely that the UFC would sign Brett Bye right now. But there’s still a chance he could make it to Dana White’s promotion in the near future. Now, the question becomes: Can he actually do it? What do you think?