A former champion, and a former runner up in the PFL’s featherweight division faced off at PFL 2.
Two-time champ Lance Palmer had been left out of the playoffs last year. Wade, formerly a lightweight, had reached new heights — but had been turned back by Movlid Khaybulaev at the PFL 2021 Championship.
With Khaylulaev out for the 2022 season, however, the field at 145lbs was wide open.
It was a listless, low-action affair for the better part of three rounds on Thursday. We weren’t even a minute in when Chris Wade poked the eye of Lance Palmer, bringing about a brief halt to their fight in Arlington, Texas.
Back underway, Palmer landed a left hand; the punch would be a go-to for Palmer, and another would land moments later. Wade then jabbed his way in, backing Palmer up to the fence, and mixing in a front kick as well. With just under two minutes left in the round, the left hand from Palmer would land again, and while Wade appeared no worse for the wear, it was a punch he was going to need to watch out for.
The biggest takeaway: Wade was controlling the fight, pressing the pace. Whether Palmer would get away with laying back and countering remained to be seen.
Round two opened with a reserved pace; a little bit of a chess match ensued. Palmer caught a kick, which led to a brief rush but nothing came of it. Back to the chess match they went, Wade pushing forward, Palmer looking to counter. It was single strikes, single kicks for the most part, with the wrestling skill of the pair seemingly cancelling each other out.
The third round saw the biggest opportunity for a finish in the fight to that point come about two minutes in: going to the ground, Palmer had a chance at a guillotine, but Wade made it back to his feet. That was probably the biggest moment of a mostly uneventful fight, which would go to the scorecards after 15 minutes. Palmer would lunge in with another left at the end of the round; it was Wade, however, who walked out with the unanimous decision win.
Official Result: Chris Wade def. Lance Palmer by unanimous (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
