The Professional Fighters League plans to hitch its wagon to two genuine action heroes when it kickstarts its 2022 schedule.
Clay Collard will face Jeremy Stephens in the PFL 1 main event on Wednesday at Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas, where competitors in the lightweight and light heavyweight divisions begin their quests for $1 million. Collard has rattled off four wins across his past five outings. He last appeared on Aug. 13, when he wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against Raush Manfio in the 2021 lightweight semifinals. Stephens, meanwhile, enters his organizational debut on a three-fight losing streak and in search of his first victory since 2018. The Alliance MMA mainstay has not competed outside the Ultimate Fighting Championship in nearly 15 years.
As Collard and Stephens move ever closer to their potential firefight at 155 pounds, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
29: Years of age for Collard, who was born on March 10, 1993 in Payson, Utah.
10: Collard victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 50% of his career total (20). His list of victims includes Lucas Montoya, Steve Sharp and Dustin Collins. Collard holds three other victories by submission and seven more by decision.
44: Seconds needed for Collard to put away Steve Walser with punches at Showdown Fights 7 on May 4, 2012. Having occurred nearly a decade ago, it remains his fastest finish to date.
5: States in which Collard has plied his MMA trade. He has gone 16-4 with one no contest in his native Utah, 2-2 in Nevada, 2-0 in New Jersey, 0-1 in Oklahoma and 0-1 in Florida. Collard has also fought once in Mexico, where he lost a unanimous decision to Gabriel Benitez at UFC 188 on June 13, 2015.
.680: Cumulative winning percentage between the nine men—Manfio, Benitez, Darrick Minner, Tiago dos Santos e Silva, Max Holloway, Justin Buchholz, David Castillo, Oliver Parker and Jose Salgado—who have defeated Collard. They boast a combined record of 153-70-2.
35: Years of age for Stephens, who was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on May 26, 1986.
19: Stephens wins by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 68% of his career total (28). His list of victims includes Josh Emmett, Doo Ho Choi, Dennis Bermudez and Rafael dos Anjos. Stephens owns two other wins by submission and seven more by decision.
18: Knockdowns landed by Stephens as a member of the UFC roster, tying him with former middleweight champion Anderson Silva for second on the promotion’s all-time list. Only Donald Cerrone (20) has been credited with more.
76: Rounds completed by Stephens as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 19 different occasions and carries a 7-12 record in those bouts.
508: Combined victories between the 19 men who have beaten Stephens: Gamrot, Holloway, Cerrone, Calvin Kattar, Yair Rodriguez, Zabit Magomedsharipov, Jose Aldo, Renato Carneiro, Frankie Edgar, Charles Oliveira, Cub Swanson, Yves Edwards, Anthony Pettis, Melvin Guillard, Gleison Tibau, Joe Lauzon, Spencer Fisher, Din Thomas and Chris Mickle. They sport a cumulative .711 winning percentage (508-199-7).
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