Now a Free Agent, Two-Time PFL Champ Lance Palmer Looking to Explore Options

It appears that Lance Palmer’s time with Professional Fighters League has run its course.

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.”

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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.”