Thad Jean will test skills against Logan Storley for the welterweight tournament championship at PFL World Tournament 8 on August 1st. Jean appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts and when asked about the momentum of beating a former champion in former Bellator MMA titleholder Jason Jackson to punch his ticket for this PFL title bid, Jean said,
"Yeah, exactly that. I mean, I wish the fight would have been me versus Jason Jackson for the finals actually. That would have been such a fun fight. But I'm cool with whatever I get because at the end of the day since the beginning of the year I've been saying that, I've been praying that in the name of Jesus that I would be the PFL welterweight 2025 tournament champion."
"Before I was even called up as an alternate. So this all just is something that's falling into place. I'm just coming here to collect what's mine and everything that comes with it is just an added bonus, a side quest. Which is really fun to do and I like playing games. So I love doing side quests [laughs]."
While Jason Jackson is also a teammate of Storley's at Kill Cliff FC, 'The Silverback' does not put much stock into the idea that Jackson can impart his anecdotal experience fighting Jean to Storley that will meaningfully inform this fight.
Thad Jean thinks Logan Storley is not 'there yet', sees first round finish
Thad Jean mentioned being into playing games earlier and also has an affinity for anime. The arc of an anime hero typically sees that figure face incrementally stronger adversaries as time goes on and when asked if Storley fits with that kind of anime narrative progression in his PFL Smart Cage journey, Jean stated,
"No. No, not at all. I don't think Logan is there yet, you know. I feel like if Logan was on my side of the bracket, he wouldn't be in the finals. Does that make sense to you? I feel like if I was where Logan was and Logan was where I was, I would have been in the finals still and he would not have, you know. I had the harder side of the bracket. He won against good opponents but I would say none on the level that my side were on or that I am on or one that he's on."
The unbeaten pro MMA fighter mentioned seeing Logan Storley as a one-dimensional fighter with a singular wrestling focus, also mentioning instances of seeing fatigue set in within Storley's heavy wrestling approach at key junctures in the fight and how Jean plays that into his perceived path to victory. As far as what the headlines will read after the dust settles on this PFL welterweight tournament championship outing, Jean quipped,
"Haitian representative Thad Jean, Thad 'The Silverback' Jean, TKO's, knocks out Logan Storley in the first round. Gaining himself his first world MMA title, becoming the 2025 PFL welterweight tournament champion. Solidifying his position as one of the top welterweights. I think that's what it's going to say. I know it's going to say something like this [laughs]."
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