Las Vegas, NV — At Friday’s PFL 2 card, Clay Collard put on another vintage performance against former Bellator MMA lightweight champ Patricky Pitbull.
It didn’t come easy, with Brazil’s Pitbull willing to stand with the heavy-handed Collard, at least until the second round when Collard (25-12, 1NC) put him away. When it came to Pitbull landing some heavy shots of his own, Collard gave credit to his chin.
“I’m the ‘Crimson Chin,’ man. So he caught me with a pretty good one, but I wouldn’t say that I was hurt,” Collard told media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout. “He kind of knocked me off-balance a little bit, but my head was still 100% in the game.”
A win over a former champ and popular Brazilian, meanwhile, has Collard satisfied, at least for now. “We just keep adding them up at this point, so it’s just another feather in the cap. On to the next.”
Other feathers in the cap for Collard have included Jeremy Stephens, Shane Burgos, and Anthony Petts. Getting back in the win column, after losses to A.J. McKee and Olivier Aubin-Mercier, was also key.
“You know what they say, you’re only as good as your last fight. As of right now, we’ve got a finish so that’s a bonus. We’re back in the winning column, and that’s what we were looking for so we’re happy about that.”
One thing that did not surprise Clay Collard at PFL 2 was Patricky Pitbull’s willingness to stand and trade with him. Ahead of the fight, Pitbull had been marketed as Bellator MMA’s Knockout King.”
“You can’t claim you’re the ‘Knockout King’ and then go wrestling,” noted Collard. “I would have dogged him hard if he would have wrestled claiming he’s the Knockout King.”
As for the toughness displayed on Friday, “you have to be tough to fight, that’s kind of a no-brainer,” said Collard. “I don’t think there’s any single person in the game tougher than me, hands down.”
Watch the full PFL 2 post-fight press conference with Clay Collard above.
