Lightweight Clay Collard has had a stellar 2023 so far, going 2-0 in the PFL regular season to land himself in the playoffs at PFL 9 this Wednesday night.
Collard (23-10, 1NC) is coming off a TKO finish of fellow UFC veteran Stevie Ray, and looks to land in the finals for the first time. So what has changed? His team, for one thing, Collard told Cageside Press ahead of his fight with Shane Burgos.
“This year, at the beginning of 2023, I actually started with a new camp. I went back with an old coach, my previous coach had some things going on,” explained Collard. “So I got with a new, he’s an old coach but I got back with him. And I feel like that’s been a big part of it. Then yeah, we’re just keeping the main thing the main thing, and the main thing right now is winning fights.”
The PFL playoff format is rather different than its regular season, where finishes earn points; the quicker the finish, the more points earned. In the post-season, it’s just win and move on, which might make a fighter approach the playoffs differently. Not Collard, however.
“For most people it might, me, I’m still going to go out there and knock him out in the first round. I’m going to try to finish him as quick as possible,” said Collard. “We’re still trying to get that first round finish and earn those points even though there’s not no points. It just makes my job a whole lot easier if I get him out of there.”
It wasn’t originally Burgos that Clay Collard was paired up with. His original opponent was Natan Schulte, but the league controversially pulled the former champ from the tournament due to a low-action fight with pal Raush Manfio to close out the season.
“I try not to think too much about it,” admitted Collard. “I think the computer system had Raush throwing four punches in the first round. I throw more punches than that in the first three seconds. It is what it is. PFL made the decision to move Schulte out and move Burgos up, and I don’t give a sh*t either way, man.”
The switch to a higher-profile, more action-oriented fighter like Shane Burgos would seem to be a more attractive match-up on paper, but Collard told us that “I don’t really care who I’m fighting. I’m the number one seed. Lock me in the cage with someone, let me get to work.”
At the same time, he knows that after beating the likes of Anthony Pettis, Jeremy Stephens, and Stevie Ray, another win over a UFC alum could possibly boost his career further. We like taking out tough guys, so if it can earn me some more fans, I’m all about it,” noted Collard. “Bigger the name, better for me.”
Asked what he’s expecting come fight night, Clay Collard knows what he would like to see at least. “I hope he tries to stand up with me. That’s the hope. He fought Yamato, and he wrestled him the whole time. So he might try to take me down and lay on me, which isn’t going to work. He might try to stand up and throw blows with me, which isn’t going to work. I’m excited to get in there and see what happens.”
As for the other side of the lightweight bracket, Collard sees defending champ Olivier Aubin-Mercier getting the job done.
“I think OAM’s just too smart of a fighter. I think he’s going to do just enough to win. Unless Miranda can come out and really put it on him and get after him right away, I don’t see him beating OAM, personally. I’d love to see it, but I don’t see it.”
Watch our full interview with PFL 9 headliner Clay Collard above.
