Former UFC champion Anthony Pettis will make his PFL debut on the card against veteran mixed martial artist and professional boxer Clay Collard in the main event.
Pettis inked a deal with PFL after his UFC contract expired at the end of 2020 and now he’ll seek to add another championship to his resume along with the $1 million grand prize as he returns to his old stomping ground in the lightweight division. Currently riding a two-fight win streak, Pettis will look to build on that momentum in his PFL debut.
As for Collard, the UFC veteran will return to MMA for the first time in nearly two years after putting most of his attention on his boxing career. Collard put together a solid resume in boxing with a 9-3-3 record over 15 fights while staying very busy with six fights in total in 2020 alone.
Now Collard will compete in the PFL lightweight division with a chance to pull off an upset in his debut while facing Pettis in the main event on April 23.
In the co-main event, two-time PFL lightweight champion Natan Schulte will face off against submission specialist Marcin Held. Schulte has run roughshod over the PFL lightweight division for the past two seasons but there are plenty of new additions to challenge him in 2021 including Held, who is currently riding a four-fight win streak of his own.
Another two-time PFL champion will also compete on April 23 as featherweight king Lance Palmer will return to action while facing off against former Brave CF champion Bubba Jenkins in the opening fight on the main card.
Palmer and Jenkins share a rivalry that dates back to college when they competed against each other in wrestling while the reigning PFL champion was at The Ohio State University and his upcoming opponent represented Penn State. Palmer has remained undefeated under the PFL banner but Jenkins will look to pull off the upset in his debut when they clash in April.
[h=3]Here’s the full PFL card announced for April 23 with the main card airing on ESPN2 and the prelims on ESPN+[/h]MAIN EVENT: Anthony Pettis vs. Clay Collard
Natan Schulte vs. Marcin Held
Movlid Khaybulaev vs. Jason Soares
Lance Palmer vs. Bubba Jenkins
ESPN+ Card
Loik Radzhabov vs. Johnny Case
Joilton Lutterbach vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier
Akhmed Aliev vs. Mikhail Odintsov
Jo Sungbin vs. Tyler Diamond
Brendan Loughnane vs. Sheymon Moraes
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