In the past nearly seven years, Danillo Villefort has fought three times.

It’s been more than two years since his most recent fight, and prior to that one he went nearly three years without stepping in the cage. (To help illustrate this a little, the photo above was taken in 2009 at UFC 101, and he’s averaged just one fight a year since then.) But given his life spent in the martial arts, he doesn’t think that’s going to matter Thursday.

“Not fighting for some time was great for me,” Villefort told MMAjunkie. “I was able to take care of my body (and) of some old injuries. I train very hard – since I was 13. I just turned 35. I was able to refine my technique. I have no complaints.

“People have been talking about the fact that I’ve been idle for two years, and that I’ll be facing someone who has several first-round finishes. I feel just fine. I’ve fought a lot in my life. I’ve competed not just in MMA, but also judo and jiu-jitsu. So taking time off doesn’t make a difference.”

Villefort (15-5) on Thursday fights Abus Magomedov (19-3) in his first fight of the regular season in the Professional Fighters League’s middleweight division. PFL 3 takes place at Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C. The main card airs on NBCSN following early fights on Facebook Watch.

Villefort, Magomedov and 10 other fighters in the division have a pair of regular-season fights in which they’ll earn points to qualify for this fall’s playoffs. At the end, the winners in each of six divisions will take home $1 million each.

Villefort said joining the PFL ranks alongside his brother, welterweight and fellow UFC veteran Yuri Villefort, was a smart business move, as well as a good move in the spirit of the sport.

“The $1 million prize is above and beyond the fight purses,” Danillo Villefort said. “I’m my brother’s manager. We opted to join PFL. It was the best option for us. The competition there is fierce. You have to win to move on. If you win early, you earn the most points. It’s competition in it rawest form. We’re excited to participate.”

Magomedov, to some, may be one of the favorites to win PFL’s inaugural middleweight season. The Germany-born 27-year-old has six straight wins, including a middleweight title victory under the Superior FC banner in Germany.

But Villefort, a Brazilian based at his own academy in Pittsburgh for the past year or so, wonders just how good some of Magomedov’s competition has been.

“He’s tough,” Villefort said. “He’s a good wrestler and has good kickboxing. He fights hard. But I looked at his opponents, and I didn’t see much. I think he has a very good manager who found him very nice fights. He’s pretty capable. But now I’m in my best phase. He’ll see the best ‘Indio’ who’s stepped in the cage. I’m ready.”

Regardless of how things play out Thursday in his first PFL foray, Villefort believes the new promotion, which rose up from WSOF, has things going in the right direction. And even though he had just one fight in the UFC back in 2009, he likes what he sees with PFL compared to the industry’s leading promotion.

“I’m very happy to be in Professional Fighters League,” he said. “I like their system. You win, you move on. There’s no crazy ranking system like the UFC has. I think our sport is going through a transitional period. Ever since the UFC hooked up with Reebok, it really hurt the business side for fighters. We lose a lot of sponsorship money. Now I’m just focused on the big prize. I don’t have much to complain about.”

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