Clay
Collard is coming off an entertaining slugfest with Jeremy
Stephens at PFL 1, but the Pit Elevated Fight Team
representative isn’t feeling too many negative effects from that
bout.
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“I didn’t take too many lumps or bruises in the Jeremy
Stephens fight. I got hit a couple times, but I wear them
well,” Collard said at PFL media event on Wednesday.
Collard will attempt to punch his ticket to the postseason when he
locks horns with Alex
Martinez in the featured bout of PFL 4 on Friday night at
Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. The evening’s main card airs on
ESPN and ESPN+ beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Collard earned
three points for his win over Stephens, but he’s planning on making
a more significant statement against Martinez.
“We’re hoping to put him away,” Collard said. “We needs some points
for the tournament and a spot in the playoffs. I’m gonna be putting
some shots on him and hopefully he doesn’t stand up to them.”
It will mark the second consecutive time that Collard is in the
main event position on a PFL card. The UFC veteran and former
professional boxer isn’t surprised by the prominent placement.
“It’s well deserved. I’m a main event fighter,” he said. “I’ve been
that way since the beginning of my career. Ninety percent of my
time I’m the most exciting fighter on a card. It’s my fighting
style and who I am as a person.”
Collard also believes he’s the favorite at 155 pounds going
forward, particularly with recent wins over the likes of Stephens
and Anthony
Pettis on his resume.
“I feel like I’m the man to beat in the tournament,” he said. “…I’m
beating the top guys, so I feel like I’m the man to beat.”
Collard also weighed in on the perceived special treatment of
Pettis, who has fought on a different schedule than the rest of the
lightweights and was paired with Myles Price
— a journeyman who hadn’t fought since 2019 — in his first regular
season bout. Pettis would go on to win that fight via first-round
submission. Regardless of how the rest of the season plays out,
Collard is confident he can do damage in the postseason. All he has
to do is get in.
“We’re just trying to win fights, man. I feel like they gave
Anthony
Pettis the easy man. He got his quick six,” Collard said.
“Props to him for doing that. It doesn’t matter how the playoffs
line up. If I’m in there, I’m winning fights.”