HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – It looks like Alejandro Flores has earned a permanent position on the PFL featherweight roster.

The Mexican fighter made a good first impression in his PFL debut last Friday, outpointing Carl Deaton III in a split decision in the preliminary card of 2021 PFL Playoffs 3.

The 2021 PFL Playoffs 3 took place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The main card aired on ESPN2 and ESPN+, with the prelims exclusively on ESPN+.

Flores (20-3) is confident the win earned him a spot in the PFL 2022 season and he can’t wait to get in the cage and compete for the PFL featherweight title and the $1 million prize.

“I was told if I win this fight there’s a good chance I’ll get a spot in 2022,” Flores told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “And just coming down from the cage the boss tells me that we’re in the 2022 season. So I’m going to work hard and I have a good amount of time to get ready.

“This 2022 is going to be tough and I have the advantage that I get to view them now, so watch out all featherweights. Like I said, I belong in the elite and I’m going to show that.”

Flores has over 20 fights under his belt and has been fighting professionally since 2013. Although he felt short in the Dana White’s Contender Series last year, the 30-year-old is grateful to have received another shot at the big leagues now fighting for PFL.

“This is something that I’ve been working at my whole life,” Flores said. “I’ve been grinding eight years non-stop. It’s not about if it’s here or there. Here we’re competing against the best of the best in the world. It’s a small roster, so that’s why I think the more difficult fighters are here.

“In the end, we’re here for big things and I want to show the bosses of PFL that I deserve to be here in the tournament among the best fighters. I want to show them I’m elite and I belong at the top of my division.”