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Jonatan Westin doesn't care about PFL prize money; he's just happy to get fights

For Jonatan Westin, the $1 million reward for winning the inaugural PFL welterweight season is just icing on the cake.

That might be a strange thing to hear, as nearly every competitor has expressed overwhelming excitement to earn such a significant prize. Westin (10-2), however, has a different mindset going into the 170-pound season, which begins Thursday at PFL 3 and airs on NBCSN and Facebook Watch from Charles E. Smith Center in Washington D.C.

Westin hasn’t competed since December 2016, and has just seven bouts overall in the past six years. Merely putting on a pair of gloves to step in a cage has been a massive challenge for him, but now that he’s in the PFL setting, he’s thrilled to be in an environment where fights are guaranteed.

“I haven’t been able to get fights,” Westin told MMAjunkie. “I’ve been in a camp the whole time (during my layoff) ready to take fights on short notice. Guys accept the fight and get injured or don’t want to fight anymore. In one year I had 17 dropoffs. That’s my motivation with PFL. Everyone wants to fight and is hungry and wants to fight and wants to win. No one is backing off because they don’t want to fight you because it’s bad for their record or something. This is the mentality I like.”

Westin, 28, said it’s a great relief to finally know exactly when and where he will be competing. He has a plethora of pent-up aggression that he hasn’t been able to unleash in a pro fight, and he intends on unleashing it against his first opponent, Bojan Velickovic (15-6-1).

Velickovic is a UFC veteran who has never been stopped inside the distance in his six career losses. He’s proven to be a durable fighter against names such as Darren Till, Krzysztof Jotko, Jake Matthews and more. However, Westin has scored the knockout in nine of his 10 career wins, and he’s confident he can add one more to his resume.

“I think the matchup fits me good,” Westin said. “Obviously he’s got more experience. I’ve seen a few fights of his. He’s good. He’s got heart and he brings it. I’m going to be the first to finish him.”

Although the $1 million championship reward would certainly add something to his life, Westin reiterated it’s not his main motivator for joining PFL. He thinks he has a pretty good shot of claiming it, though, especially with a structure that lends itself to fight-finishers.

“I don’t think about the points,” Westin said. “The finishes don’t come to you if you search for it. It comes when it comes, but my style, it fits my style. I like to finish early in the fight. But I’m not searching for it. If it goes to three rounds, then it’s going to be like that.”

For more on PFL 3, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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