Rapper Wiz Khalifa Talks PFL Partnership and Potential MMA Fight: ‘It’s Definitely Something I Think About’
The multiplatinum-selling rapper, businessman and MMA practitioner will perform his new track “Million Dollar Moment” at tonight’s PFL Championship event.
Wiz Khalifa is best known as a multiplatinum-selling rapper, but he’s also a shrewd businessman and a diehard MMA fan.
It was Wiz’s instincts for business and obsession with MMA that led him to make an early-2021 investment in the Professional Fighters League, a rising organization that promotes MMA with a unique, seasonal format with playoffs, finals, and million-dollar prizes for the champion of each weight class.
“When the opportunity came up to become an investor in the PFL, I couldn’t pass it up,” Wiz says. “I love the fact that PFL is an alternative to what’s already out there. People should be able to choose what they want to watch and where they want to fight. The fighters who don’t have contracts and want to get notoriety, I see them coming over to the PFL and being huge superstars.”
In addition to his investment in the PFL, Wiz also recently penned a brand-new song for the budding fight league. He’ll perform the new Sledgren-produced track, titled “Million Dollar Moment,” at the PFL Championship event on Wednesday, October 27, kicking off a night that will feature six title fights, as well as boxing star Claressa Shields’ second MMA bout.
“I think the song is great and I’m excited to be performing it at the championship,” Wiz said. “Getting to create this track with Sledgren was so special because it is something that will always be part of the PFL with my MMA family.”
Unsurprisingly, the PFL team is thrilled to be aligned with a star of Wiz’s caliber. According to PFL Cofounder and Chairman Donn Davis, the league’s partnership with the rapper has surpassed all expectations.
“I don’t think any league has had their own song since Monday Night Football,” Davis says, hinting that Million Dollar Moment will be heard on PFL cards long after the 2021 season concludes. “The idea for the song was Wiz’s. The idea to perform it on Wednesday night? Wiz’s. He’s been fantastic. He’s overdelivered.”
Wiz seldom misses a big fight, but his interest in MMA extends well beyond tuning in. The rapper has spent years learning and practicing the sport, to the point that it’s impossible not to wonder if he might one day step into the cage himself, particularly amid the ongoing celebrity boxing craze.
It’s a possibility he won’t commit to—but also one he won’t rule out.
“I’ve always been a boxing fan and when MMA started to become big, my cousins convinced me to start training in jiu-jitsu,” Wiz said. “That was about 5 years ago.”
“I love watching and [fighting is] definitely something I think about, but for now I’m happy as an owner. But you never know. I am always training so if the opportunity presents itself and is something that could be fun and good for everyone, I could see myself getting in the ring.”
Should Wiz ever develop an appetite for that kind of gutsy challenge, he can count on the door the PFL cage being wide open.
“If Wiz ever wants to get in the cage, whether it be for an exhibition, for charity, or for a professional bout, he’s got the PFL in his corner,” PFL CEO Peter Murray says. “He knows who to call.”