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)

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The Professional Fighters League returns Thursday night to the ESports Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with defending heavyweight champion Bruno Cappelozza in the main event. After winning the title and a million dollars last season, Cappelozza kicks off 2022 against England’s Stuart Austin, who appeared just once for the promotion last year.

While Cappelozza is back, the 2021 featherweight champion is not. An injury has left Movlid Kahybulaev outside of this year’s tournament, opening the door for returning fighters including Brendan Loughnane, Chris Wade, and Bubba Jenkins, in what should be a very competitive 145 pound division.

PFL 2 airs live on ESPN+ and ESPN2, with the preliminary card getting underway at 6:30PM ET, followed by the main card at 9PM. Full results from the event can be found below.

PFL 2 2022: Cappelozza vs. Austin Weigh-In Results

Main Card

Bruno Cappelozza def. Stuart Austin by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 1, 4:24
Chris Wade def. Lance Palmer by unanimous (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Brendan Loughnane def. Ryoji Kudo by technical decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Renan Ferreira def. Jamelle Jones by knockout, Round 1, 0:25
Denis Goltsov def. Cody Goodale by TKO, Round 1, 3:20

Preliminary Card

Ante Delija def. Matheus Scheffel by TKO (strikes) Round 2, 0:59
Bubba Jenkins def. Kyle Bochniak by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Klidson Abreu def. Adam Keresh by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Sheymon Moraes def. Boston Salmon by unanimous decision  (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Alejandro Flores def. Saba Bolagh by unanimous decision (30-37, 30-37, 29-28)

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Speaking to reporters on Tuesday at media day Wade expressed respect for his opponent, but confidence that he will be able to get the job done on fight night.

“I think it’s a great matchup. I think PFL did a really good job this season seeing a lot of the big names that they brought together early on. It’s a really tough division so if you’re looking to duck tough fights you’re going to have a hard time here,” Wade said.

“I’m not looking to hide from tough fights and Lance is a guy I have a lot of respect for, but I’m very very confident right now in the work I’ve been putting in. I think that you’re going to see a high-paced fight with a lot of scrambles. I think as a result of that you’re going to see a finish.”

Wade is coming off a loss in the finals in 2021 where he dropped a decision to Movlid Khaybulaev in his first season at featherweight. With Khaybulaev out of the tournament in 2022 due to injury Wade comes into the season with a lot of confidence that he can get the job done this time.

“Movlid he won the title last year he’s the champion of last year, but he’s not here this year and then when you look at everything else with the season that I had and with the improvements that I’ve made since then, I feel like I’m the guy here. I’m sure everybody feels like they’re the guy they’re going to tell you that, but I put the results out there. And I always put the results out there. Every year, whether it’s 55 or here, it’s me down to the nitty gritty at the end,” Wade said.

“With him not being here I feel like this is my division.”

Watch the full PFL 2 2022 media day appearance from Chris Wade above. The event takes place this Thursday, April 28, 2022 at the ESports Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

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Speaking to reporters on Tuesday Palmer spoke on his first fight in 2022 and the easing of COVID restrictions coming into the season.

“I’m excited to fight this year. This year is a lot different from last year as far as the scenario we’re in. The no-quarantine and all that stuff that we went through last year. I think a lot of people are more motivated just in general to get back in the cage have kind of a more normal life leading into the fight with fight week only being a regular fight week and stuff like that,” Palmer said.

Taking on last season’s finalist Palmer knows he’s in for a tough fight against a guy who has competed in PFL at lightweight before and almost won the entire thing at featherweight last year.

“Chris has always been a tough opponent. Even when he was at 55 he was one of the more exciting guys in that division. Even though he never won it at 55, he was really close a couple times, and I think he even had a split-decision loss in the semi-finals one year. He very well could have been a champ at 55 before he dropped down to 45,” Palmer said.

“He’s always been one of those guys that on the radar as a game opponent. Having this fight as the first fight of the season, I mean, this is a finals fight. Even though it’s only 3 rounds I feel like this is a fight that could be treated as a finals fight anyways. We’re just getting paid a lot less than we would for the finals.”

Palmer is currently on a two-fight losing streak dropping decisions to Bubba Jenkins and the eventual champion in Movlid Khaybulaev respectively. He remains confident that this season will be his for the taking.

“100% I mean you can’t guarantee that you’re going to win, but I can guarantee you that I’m fully prepared mentally and physically. I’m excited, but it’s only one fight at a time just like the first two seasons I won, I focused on the very first fight. I don’t even know who I would fight second,” Pamer said.

“I’m focused on Chris Wade, getting that win, and then we’ll move on from there.”

Watch the full PFL 2 2022 media day appearance from Lance Palmer above. The event takes place this Thursday, April 28, 2022 at the ESports Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

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Heading into Friday’s card, Harrison had stated that she had sympathy for the mother of six, who was embarking on her final run in MMA. The two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo did not want to be the woman to put the final nail in Dandois’ coffin. Yet as luck would have it, that was exactly the match-up Harrison found herself in at PFL 6.

Harrison and Dandois topped the card, but there were a number of interesting match-ups in Atlantic City, NJ on Friday. Officially, it was women’s lightweight and heavyweight divisions in action, but after pulling out sick earlier this month, Anthony Pettis was in the co-main event opposite Raush Manfio. Defending featherweight champ Lance Palmer was also set to face Movlid Khaybulaev — and both Pettis and Palmer were in must-win, must-finish territory.

At heavyweight, meanwhile, Renan Ferreira was taking on short-notice replacement Carl Seumanutafa, and Brandon Sayles was hoping to keep his 100% win finish rate alive against Denis Goltsov.

Full results from PFL 6, 2021 can be found below. Note: women’s lightweight Olena Kolesnyk missed weight by 1.6lbs at Thursday’s weigh-in. As a result, she has been docked one point, fined twenty percent of her purse, and is ineligible to win additional points if she is victorious on Friday. Opponent Larissa Pacheco earns three points in a walkover win, but can earn more with a finish.

PFL 6: Harrison vs. Dandois Results

Main card

Kayla Harrison def. Cindy Dandois by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 4:44
Raush Manfio def. Anthony Pettis by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Movlid Khaybulaev def. Lance Palmer by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Denis Goltsov def. Brandon Sayles by TKO, Round 3, 1:24

Preliminary card

Bruno Cappelozza def. Muhammed DeReese by knockout, Round 1, 2:21
Larissa Pacheco def. Olena Kolesnyk by knockout, Round 1, 4:48
Ante Delija def. Chandler Cole by TKO, Round 1, 4:39
Genah Fabian def. Julija Pajić by TKO, Round 2, 4:16
Renan Ferreira def. Carl Seumanutafa by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Taylor Guardado def. Laura Sanchez by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mariana Morais def. Kaitlin Young by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
Jamelle Jones def. Klidson Abreu by TKO, Round 1, 1:43

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Losing is not something the two-time PFL featherweight champion Palmer often does. But this season’s PFL 1 was the first time he was handed defeat since March of 2017, when the league was still branded as the World Series of Fighting. That night, he lost a unanimous decision to former college wrestling foe Bubba Jenkins.

“Coming off of the loss in April, it was just, I know that wasn’t me in there as far as mentally and physically, so I don’t take too much out of that fight. Obviously, it’s a loss on my record, but coming in this fight [with Movlid Khaybulaev] it’s super motivating,” Palmer said during PFL 6 media day on Tuesday.

Palmer is motivated to be fighting his next opponent Khaybulaev who is undefeated at 16-0-1. He finds excitement in the challenge.

“I’m excited about it. The way it played out to be able to fight Movlid on this card is awesome. I’m excited, and I’m happy that the PFL was able to make it happen,” Palmer said.

He added to his excitement when a reporter asked about getting a finish to make the playoffs.

“I have to get a first-round finish [to get into the playoffs]. But regardless of that, I’m just excited for the fight Obviously, getting a win would be huge for me, just because he is a great opponent. I’m going to go out and have fun in there and just enjoy it. Enjoy the fight; enjoy the process leading up to it. I really haven’t really enjoyed- you know, the last one I didn’t really enjoy any of the process leading into it,” Palmer said.

“As far as the playoffs and the points and all the stuff goes, I’m not too worried about that. I just want to go out and get a win and be able to enjoy it. If I make the playoffs, that’s great; if I don’t, that’s great too. We’ll figure out the future when that time comes.”

Watch the full PFL 6 media day scrum with Lance Palmer above. The event takes place this Thursday, June 25, in Atlantic City, NJ, airing live on ESPN+ and ESPN 2 (TSN in Canada).

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Two established champions — two time champs — were defeated in Lance Palmer and Natan Schulte. While they can still make the post-season, it will be that much harder, after Bubba Jenkins and Marcin Held, respectively, earned unanimous decision wins over the duo. Jenkins out-wrestled his old NCAA foe, while Held surprised everyone by beating Schulte on the feet.

Then, in the pain event, Clay Collard’s boxing was just too much for Anthony Smith, one of the biggest signings the PFL has made to date. Pettis survived a dangerous knockdown, a near finish, but in the end, they went the distance.

PFL 1: Pettis vs. Collard Results

Main Card

Lightweight: Clay Collard def. Anthony Pettis by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
Lightweight: Marcin Held def. Natan Schulte by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Featherweight: Movlid Khaibulaev def. Lazar Stojadinovic by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Featherweight: Bubba Jenkins def. Lance Palmer by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card

Featherweight: Brendan Loughnane def. Sheymon Moraes by KO, Round 1, 2:55
Lightweight: Raush Manfio def. Joilton Lutterbach by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Lightweight: Akhmed Aliev def. Mikhail Odintsov by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Featherweight: Chris Wade def. Anthony Dizy by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Featherweight: Tyler Diamond def. Jo Sungbin by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Lightweight: Alexander Martinez def. Loik Radzhabov by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

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The wrestling was key Friday night — and Bubba Jenkins displayed just how he had dominated Palmer all those years ago. Jenkins opened with his jab, while the pair traded kicks. Soon enough, Palmer got his left hand going, with the two wrestlers focusing entirely on the stand-up early. That would last through the first half of the opening round. Then, Jenkins opted to shoot for a takedown, completing it with a trip just as Palmer appeared ready to escape. Even when Palmer did work his way up, Jenkins went to work with heavy knees to the thigh. Jenkins would suplex Palmer back to the ground in the final minute, underscoring his dominance in the opening round.

Jenkins may have entered round two with a significant confidence boost. He also landed a right hand, though Palmer was able to fight off a takedown attempt. Palmer hit home with a low kick, an attack he’d repeat moments later. Still, Palmer, showing some damage to his face, was in a rare spot: through the first half of the fight, he was rather clearly behind. Almost identical to the first round, Jenkins would end up controlling Palmer, landing knees to the thigh. A scramble saw Palmer escape, but he was unable to catch Jenkins with anything in the way of offense.

Palmer was, without question, down entering the third round. In need of a finish, else he was at risk of losing for the first time in his PFL career. But it was Jenkins landing a knee to the body in the clinch. Knees to the leg followed. Palmer landed a punch low, halting the action for a few minutes. When the action resumed, Jenkins landed a body lock takedown. Near the end of the round, Palmer worked for a guillotine choke, but Jenkins freed himself, and any hope of a Palmer comeback was dashed.

Official Result: Bubba Jenkins def. Lance Palmer by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

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Pettis would make his debut opposite another former UFC alum and league newcomer, Clay Collard. The pair topped Friday’s card, which was comprised entirely of featherweight and lightweight action. In addition to Pettis, 2019 champs Lance Palmer (featherweight) and Natan Schulte (lightweight) were in action as well, against newcomers Bubba Jenkins and Marcin Held, respectively. Contender Series alum Brendan Loughnane, after winning both his non-tournament PFL fights last year, entered the season format for the first time, taking on former UFC fighter Sheymon Moraes at featherweight.

The action kicks off at 5:30PM ET, airing on ESPN2 and ESPN+ for U.S. viewers. In Canada, the main card can be found on TSN starting at 9PM ET.

PFL 1: Pettis vs. Collard Results

Main Card

Lightweight: Clay Collard def. Anthony Pettis by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
Lightweight: Marcin Held def. Natan Schulte by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Featherweight: Movlid Khaibulaev def. Lazar Stojadinovic by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Featherweight: Bubba Jenkins def. Lance Palmer by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card

Featherweight: Brendan Loughnane def. Sheymon Moraes by KO, Round 1, 2:55
Lightweight: Raush Manfio def. Joilton Lutterbach by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Lightweight: Akhmed Aliev def. Mikhail Odintsov by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Featherweight: Chris Wade def. Anthony Dizy by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Featherweight: Tyler Diamond def. Jo Sungbin by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Lightweight: Alexander Martinez def. Loik Radzhabov by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

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On Thursday, all fighters save one made weight successfully for the Professional Fighters League’s return to action. Atop the card, Anthony Pettis will make his promotional debut against fellow UFC alum Clay Collard. Both fighters hit the mark, with Collard actually coming in a fair bit under the non-title limit.

Also making weight Thursday were last year’s lightweight and featherweight champs, Natan Schulte and Lance Palmer. Both men have won their respective divisions two years running.

The only fighter who came in heavy for PFL 1, 2021 edition was Mikhail Odintsov, who will receive a 1-point penalty in the lightweight division, will be ineligible to earn points in the fight, and will forfeit 20% of his purse to opponent Akhmed Aliev.

Full results from Thursday’s weigh-in in Atlantic City can be found below. The event takes place Friday, April 23, airing live on ESPN 2 and ESPN+.

PFL 1 Weigh-In Results:

Lightweight: Anthony Pettis (156 lbs.) vs. Clay Collard (154.6 lbs.)
Lightweight: Natan Schulte (156 lbs.) vs. Marcin Held (155.8 lbs.)
Featherweight: Movlid Khaibulaev (145.4 lbs.) vs. Lazar Stojadinovic (145.8 lbs.)
Featherweight: Lance Palmer (145.4 lbs.) vs. Bubba Jenkins (146 lbs.)
Lightweight: Loik Radzhabov (155.4 lbs.) vs. Alexander Martinez (156 lbs.)
Lightweight: Joilton Lutterbach (155.8 lbs.) vs. Raush Manfio (156 lbs.)
Lightweight: Akhmed Aliev (155.2 lbs.) vs. Mikhail Odintsov (156.4 lbs.)*
Featherweight: Chris Wade (146 lbs.) vs. Anthony Dizy (145.6 lbs.)
Featherweight: Jo Sungbin (145.6 lbs.) vs. Tyler Diamond (145.8 lbs.)
Featherweight: Brendan Loughnane (146 lbs.) vs. Sheymon Moraes (146 lbs.)

* Odintsov misses weight by 0.4lbs, forfeits 20% of purse, faces 1-point penalty, ineligible to win points in bout

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