There is a strong argument that Usman Nurmagomedov is the greatest pound-for-pound mixed martial artist in the world outside of the UFC.
The PFL lightweight champion has been utterly dominant throughout his professional career, racking up a record of 21 victories from 22 fights with one no contest.
The only fighter to have any real success against Nurmagomedov is Ireland's Paul Hughes, who also is widely regarded as one of the best talents in the world at 155lbs irrespective of promotion.
Nurmagomedov - the cousin of UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov - is scheduled to make the second defence of his PFL lightweight title on Friday night in New York when he takes on undefeated prospect Archie Colgan at the UBS Arena in New York,
The bout will mark his fourth under the PFL banner, and 12th in total since taking his career stateside by signing with the now defunct Bellator MMA promotion in 2020.
While the 28-year-old is arguably the biggest star PFL has to offer, this weekend's event could mark his final appearance with the promotion as his contract looks set to come to an end.
How many fights does Usman Nurmagomedov have left on his PFL contract?
Following his fight with Colgan on Friday night Usman Nurmagomedov could become one of the biggest free agents in MMA history.
Reports suggest his title defence this weekend is the final fight on Nurmagomedov's PFL contract, which is reported to be one of the most lucrative in the promotion's history.
To lose their undefeated champion would be a huge blow for the PFL, and with new CEO John Martin seemingly intent on making the promotion a genuine competitor to the UFC, re-signing the Dagestani needs to be a priority.
With more than 1.6million followers on social media Nurmagomedov has massive appeal in the combat sports space and could serve be the the promotion's figurehead for years to come.
Finding suitable opponents will continue to be an issue, however.
The UFC has the vast majority of the elite fighters in the world at 155lbs under contract, but a potential trilogy fight with Paul Hughes could be a landmark moment for the PFL given how competitive their first two meetings were.
Could Usman Nurmagomedov sign with the UFC?
It's hard to imagine a scenario where the UFC wouldn't want to snap up Nurmagomedov once he is available as a free agent.
There are a number of ready-made matchups waiting for him inside the Octagon, particularly given the UFC's lightweight division was recently blown wide open by Justin Gaethje's upset of Ilia Topuria.
Plus now Nurmagomedov's team-mate Islam Makhachev has moved up a division to continue his run of dominance at 170lbs there could be an opportunity for their team to collectively reign over two of the most competitive divisions in all of MMA.
What his decision will likely come down to is pay.
As one of the biggest stars in the PFL Nurmagomedov is reportedly on a bumper deal that sees him take home in excess of $1million (£750k) per fight.
A prospective switch to the UFC would almost certainly mean a significant pay cut, a factor noted by Makhachev himself in a recent interview.
“Looking at the opponents, I’d say Usman should make the move,” Makhachev told Adam Zubayraev.
“To fully realize his potential, he needs tougher opponents. They push you to grow. I think Usman still has room to improve… In PFL they pay much more.
"The UFC doesn’t like paying that much. If Usman signs, I think he gets half the purse he gets in PFL… If he works out one more contract [in PFL], three more fights, he won’t be late for anything.
"Let the UFC make him an offer he can’t refuse. But if they offer a small purse, what’s the point of going?”
