A breakthrough boxer in 2020, Clay Collard carried his recent combat sports momentum into his MMA return Friday at 2021 PFL 1.
Friday, Collard (19-8) upset former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis (24-11) with a unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28) victory. The judges’ scorecards came after Collard battered Pettis for the majority of three rounds.
After a successful first round, Collard turned in a dominant Round 2, in which he dropped and nearly finished Pettis with punches on multiple occasions. Somewhere in the madness, Collard appeared to injure his hand, which limited his weapons for the remainder of the fight.
Regardless of his banged-up hand, Collard found success with his striking early in Round 3. As the final half-round wound down, Pettis turned the tables. He landed a nasty head kick, followed by a jumping knee. Both blows snapped Collard’s head back, but “Cassius” survived. Collard grabbed hold of Pettis’ leg, pulled his opponent into guard, and survived until the final buzzer.
With the win, Collard extends his MMA winning streak to three. Meanwhile, Pettis has now lost three of five. Friday’s fight was Pettis’ first non-UFC or WEC bout since 2008.
Check out some highlights of Collard vs. Pettis in the clips below:
Clay Collard bringing the fight to Anthony Pettis in the second round!#2021PFL1
🇺🇸 LIVE NOW ESPN2
🌎 https://t.co/T11Ogp2ycR pic.twitter.com/Rcq0zlbWDk— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 24, 2021
Clay Collard drops Pettis in the 2nd round!!!!#2021PFL1
🇺🇸 LIVE NOW ESPN2
🌎 https://t.co/T11Ogp2ycR pic.twitter.com/nFULFBsPBT— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 24, 2021
Clay Collard gets a 2nd knockdown!!! Can Pettis survive the 2nd round?!?!#2021PFL1
🇺🇸 LIVE NOW ESPN2
🌎 https://t.co/T11Ogp2ycR pic.twitter.com/IDS9fOS5rV— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 24, 2021
HEAD KICK FOLLOWED BY A FLYING KNEE FROM PETTIS!!!#2021PFL1
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🌎 https://t.co/T11Ogp2ycR pic.twitter.com/jW9FDCUKFK— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 24, 2021
Official 2021 PFL 1 results include:
MAIN CARD (ESPN 2, 9 p.m. ET)
- Clay Collard def. Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28) – earns 3 points in lightweight standings
- Marcin Held def. Natan Schulte via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – earns 3 points in lightweight standings
- Movlid Khaybulaev def. Lazar Stojadinovic via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – earns 3 points in featherweight standings
- Bubba Jenkins def. Lance Palmer via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – earns 3 points in featherweight standings
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 5:30 p.m. ET)
- Brendan Loughnane def. Sheymon Moraes via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:55 – earns 6 points in featherweight standings
- Raush Manfio def. Joilton Lutterbach via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) – earns 3 points in lightweight standings
- Akhmed Aliev def. Mikhail Odintsov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – earns 3 points in lightweight standings
- Chris Wade def. Anthony Dizy via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – earns 3 points in featherweight standings
- Tyler Diamond def. Sung Bin Jo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – earns 3 points in featherweight standings
- Alex Martinez def. Loik Radzhabov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27) – earns 3 points in lightweight standings
