A full-time MMA fighter at last, PFL finalist Matheus Scheffel puts dream of becoming world champion ahead of million-dollar prize

Ante Delija knocked out Matheus Scheffel to kick off a successful run in the PFL 2022 season back in April, and now they rematch for the heavyweight title — and a million-dollar check — at the 2022 PFL Championship event Friday in New York City. For Brazil’s “Buffa”, the chance for redemption comes in perfect time.

“One of my dreams was to live to train and since my last fight I was able to do that,” Scheffel said on this week’s Trocação Franca podcast. “I stopped working as a personal trainer, and now I can say my job is to train MMA. I don’t have to teach anymore. I don’t know if I’ll have to go back to doing that one day, I hope not, but I’m happy just training now. Things happened right when they had to.”

A life-changing prize is on the line Friday night, and Scheffel refuses to think about what he would do with such amount in his bank account. Still driving “an old Audi A3” after beating Juan Adams and Bruno Cappelozza in the regular season, he won’t allow himself to think about cool BMWs and gold necklaces for now.

“I’m only thinking about the belt,” Scheffel said. “My dream is to become a world champion and I’m sure that will happen.”

Being a full-time fighter will mean a different result when he rematches Delija at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, said the CM System prospect. Scheffel was knocked out seven months ago and “learned a lot in that fight”, but said “I know what I can do” against Delija.

“I just found out what it is to just train so I don’t know how that will affect [my performance], but I hope it reflects how I felt in the gym,” Scheffel said. “All I did was train and rest, train and rest. It’s such an absurd difference. I didn’t have to worry about teaching classes. Now I can say I’m a fighter.”

“I didn’t do well that night, but I’m sure I’m coming back better this time around and the result will be different. I’ve changed a lot. I know what to expect from Delija, but he hasn’t felt yet what I have coming for him. He’ll definitely be bothered by it.”

“I’ve seen all the possible scenarios,” he continued. “I’m well on the feet, also in wrestling and jiu-jitsu. It’s hard to make a prediction for this fight. I even joked I’d beat him for five rounds to give fans some excitement, but I’m always after the knockout.”