It appears that Lance
Palmer’s time with Professional Fighters League has run its
course.
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During an interview on “The
MMA Hour,” Palmer revealed that he is a free agent and is able
to sign with whatever organization he chooses. He also indicated
that it’s unlikely that he and the PFL will come to terms on a new
contract.
Unrestricted,” Palmer said. “Honestly, I don’t think they (the PFL)
have interest in re-signing me. That gives me the freedom to kind
of do what I want to do. Obviously, I have interest in going other
places. There’s a lot of fights that I would like to get involved
in hopefully to push myself over this next run of wherever it is.
The Bellator featherweight division is stacked, the UFC
featherweight division is stacked.”
Palmer was a former World Series of Fighting featherweight champion
before the promotion rebranded as the PFL. He went on to win 11
consecutive fights in PFL competition, capturing back-to-back
championships — and the $1 million prize that accompanied them — at
145 pounds along the way. Still, Palmer doesn’t believe he was
recognized as one of the top athletes in his weight class.
“Even after winning the 2018 and 2019 seasons, I still feel that I
didn’t get any credit for it as far as the guys I beat because
nobody knows who they are,” he said. “You can be the champ of any
organization, but if it’s not the UFC you’re really not gonna get
the notoriety of being a world champion.”
If Palmer does move on to the UFC or Bellator, he will do so in the
midst of a mini-slump. He endured the first three-bout losing skid
of his professional career in the PFL from April 2021 to April
2022. He rebounded with a win over Sheymon
Moraes in his last outing this past July but has missed the
postseason for two years running. That being said, Palmer is
looking forward to the process of being a free agent.
“I made a lot of money fighting for the PFL over the last few
years, but I didn’t come to this sport for that reason,” Palmer
said. “It’s great that it happened that way and I’ve taken a
different route than a lot of people … I haven’t really been an
actual free agent since I signed with World Series of Fighting in
2013.”