It’s been just over 1,000 days since Natan Schulte last fought in MMA, and he returns to the Professional Fighters League cage excited to finally resume his career. A two-time PFL season winner, the Brazilian lightweight signed a new contract with PFL years after parting ways with the organization in the aftermath of a highly criticized clash with Raush Manfio.

Manfio and Schulte are teammates in Florida and close friends — Manfio is the godfather of Schulte’s daughter — but they had to face off for a spot in the 2024 lightweight playoffs. Schulte won a decision, his fourth straight victory in the company after beating Marcin Held, Jeremy Stephens and Stevie Ray, but PFL suspended both for not using their “best efforts … skills and abilities as a professional athlete to compete … and defeat any opponent.”

Looking back now as he prepares for his upcoming bout with unbeaten lightweight Jakub Kaszuba at PFL’s upcoming event in Pittsburgh on March 28, Schulte admits he would have done things differently.

“I didn’t want to pull out of the fight, but today maybe I would have, knowing everything that actually happened,” Schulte told MMA Fighting. “It was a pretty bad situation for both of us. I probably wouldn’t have fought because it ended up feeling kind of like a set-up fight or something like that. We agreed to fight, and the fight was really bad, it wasn’t what the fans wanted, but given the circumstances, we accepted it. When the time came, though, the fight didn’t play out as expected and it turned into a very poor performance. After that, they basically gave me a ban, took me out of the tournament, kept me under contract for a while and then released me six months later. They held me for quite a long time. I could’ve looked for other opportunities sooner.”

Schulte had enough money in the bank to fully focus on healing from injuries and evolving as an athlete in the American Top Team gym during his time away from competition for “over two years to train without worrying about fights, dieting, and all that.”

“They ended up terminating the contract about five months later and I became a free agent,” Schulte said. “I had a few offers and accepted some, but things didn’t work out on the opponents’ side. My manager even called asking if I could make weight on less than a month’s notice for a UFC fight, but the opponent didn’t accept or something like that, so it didn’t happen in the end.”

Schulte re-signed with PFL in late 2024, and said there was no hard feelings with the way the promotion handled his fight with Manfio.

“I see it as work, you know? I approach it professionally,” Schulte said. “Some of the people who were with the PFL back then are no longer there. Even the guy who pushed to match me up with Raush isn’t there anymore. Things have changed. I know some people are still around, but most of that management is gone. My relationship is purely professional. I wouldn’t have a problem with it though — some of them were still there when I signed again with PFL.”

Booked against an undefeated prospect who won two seasons of PFL Europe as a lightweight, Schulte said he feels no pressure to deliver a spectacle after a controversial showing in 2023.

“I hadn’t even thought about it like that, of having to put on an amazing performance or go to war,” Schulte said. “In the end, I want to deliver results. I’m thinking about finishing the fight as quickly as possible, leaving the cage without getting hurt, and already looking ahead to the next one. What I really want is a quick performance, either a submission or a knockout. I know fans want a war, they want a brawl, but I want to deliver a strong performance because now the promotion is entering a new format. There’s a ranking system now, you win and move up and position yourself as a top contender for the belt.”