Exclusive: PFL Europe finalist Simeon Powell ‘blessed’ to have mum’s influence ahead of $100k bout

The 24-year-old is just one win away from claiming the inaugural PFL light-heavyweight championship and scooping up a cheque for $100k.

The 9-0 Brit has powered his way into the finals of the newly-created tournament where he will take on 7-1 Slovenian Jakob Nedoh.

Powell defeated Mohamed Amine and Daniel Ladero to bag his spot in Dublin, though he is now looking to finish the job on Friday, December 8.

The Harrow-born fighter is one of the most exciting young MMA talents in the UK, with just two of his nine professional bouts going the distance.

Powell admitted that staying on the right track in life was the key behind his rise in the world of MMA.

“Harrow is a place where no one has really come out of there and made it big,” Powell told Planet Sport.

“You don’t really hear many stories about it. Hopefully I’m trying to pioneer that. If you get distracted, you can definitely fall into the wrong place and the wrong path of life.

“Friends growing up that have gone left when I went right. But I was always smart in that sense, I always saw the bigger picture of life. I knew this wasn’t it, it wasn’t the be all and end all. But for a lot of people in Harrow, that is the be all and end all. They make certain life decisions.

“Me – I stay focused. I always had good people around me, good friends.”

When asked whether there was ever a risk of him going down the wrong path in life, Powell was quick to praise his mum.

He said: “Definitely if I didn’t have the influence of my mother. She was an athlete herself, she understands hard work and focus. If I didn’t have the influence of my mother, for sure, for sure.

“Everyone going to high school, if you were doing certain things, you were the respected one. It’s easy to get dragged in just because you crave respect or a love that you may not have been getting at home.

“I was blessed to have my mum.”

Powell’s mother was an 800 metre runner and even competed at the Commonwealth Games.

“She got a knee injury and that was it, she couldn’t do it anymore,” added the PFL finalist. “But in terms of what she does for me, she always makes sure I’m in line.

“She’s not a yes woman. Anything that I do, she will challenge me and make sure she says her perspective. I might challenge it at first, but then I take it in, and usually she’s right.

“Nine times out of 10 that woman is right. And everything she says comes true. So I’m done arguing with her and I listen to her a lot.”

Fans can watch PFL Europe 4 from Dublin live on DAZN on Friday, December 8.