Clay Collard Details Biggest Concern for Bellator Fighters in PFL Transition

Clay Collard believes Bellator MMA fighters might have some difficulty adjusting to the frequency of the Professional Fighters League season format.

Collard (24-12) is ready to start his fourth Professional Fighters League season in the lightweight category against former Bellator lightweight champ Patricky Freire (25-12) at PFL 2 on April 12. Having fought in various promotions around the world, including the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Collard notes that it is the frequency of PFL fights that Bellator talent might find difficult to keep up with.

The PFL regular season, followed by playoffs and championships and additional pay-per-view cards has fighters competing more frequently on an average than other promotions. According to Collard, fighters who cut a lot of weight will find it difficult to fight three or four times a year.

“I feel like a lot of these guys aren't going to be used to the amount of fights,” Collard said. “Most of these guys are fighting once, twice a year, so I think that's going to take a toll later in the season… I've saw a couple guys walking around here that are quite large for 155 and to maintain that weight and stay at that weight all year long is a little tougher than once or twice a year.”

Collard lost the PFL 2023 lightweight championship via unanimous decision against Olivier Aubin-Mercier, who won it all for the second time. Collard then suffered a Round 1 submission loss to former Bellator featherweight champ A.J. McKee on the PFL vs. Bellator Champs card in February. Having dropped consecutive bouts against elite wrestlers, Collard claims to have amped up his ground game.

“I've been focusing a lot on my grappling lately. I feel like if I were to have any holes or weaknesses in my game, that's where it would be at. So I've been putting a lot of work in on the ground,” said the 31-year-old. “You know, after my last two losses, both of those came from guys that were really, good on the ground. So I've been focusing on my groundwork, my submission grappling, my wrestling and ain't nobody going to stand on the feet with me.”