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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Bubba Jenkins out-wrestled Lance Palmer in one. In the main event, Clay Collard out-boxed Anthony Pettis in another. But perhaps the most surprising was the upset of Natan Schulte by Marcin Held.

Held has long been known as a threat on the ground. But he showed improved striking on Friday night in Atlantic City, in a fight that turned out to be an absolute barn burner.

Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Held (27-7) credited his training camp for his success. “It was the best training camp. I did everything good,” he told Cageside Press. Although, he admitted that “maybe the plan was a little bit different. I expected to take him down and do more on the ground. But it wasn’t so easy, so I had to fight standing up.”

In the end, for Held, it’s evidence that he’s an all-around mixed martial artist, not just a ground specialist.

“Like I’ve said a lot lot of times, I’m not only a Brazilian jiu-jitsu grappling fighter, I’m a complete MMA fighter than can fight standing or on the ground. Everywhere,” he stated. “I feel good everywhere. The next time, you will see, you can’t expect that I will only go on the ground and try to finish the fight on the ground. I can punch, I can win striking, I can win on the ground, I’m a complete MMA fighter.”

Picking up a win over the champ right out of the gate, “I hope I showed that [against] one of the best fighters in this division,” Held added.

With that win under his belt, Held moves forward with three points. He may now be one of the favorites to move into the playoffs and win the championship.

Watch the full PFL 1 (2021) post-fight press conference above.

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While Pettis had exited the UFC off a pair of wins and jumped straight to the Professional Fighters League, Collard had taken time to compete in the boxing ring. On Friday night, that showed, as Collard took the lead early against the former UFC and WEC champ.

In the opening round, Clay Collard managed to back Pettis, up, using his boxing and targeting the body. After spending a year in the ring, it was clear Collard had plenty of skill in his hands. Pettis would answer back, but with less frequency. Collard had the edge in volume, and accuracy. When Pettis went off-balance on a cartwheel kick, Collard chopped away at his legs.

Collard, however, was not going to willingly go to the ground with the former UFC champ. Which allowed Pettis to get back up. On his next attack, Collard backed Pettis into the fence again, targeting the body and leaving Pettis on his back once more. Through the first round, Collard was fighting exactly the fight he needed to: heavy on the boxing, high percentage with his strikes, and avoiding the flashy, low-percentage attacks of “Showtime.”

In the second, the body work by Collard continued. Pettis mixed in knees to the body, and tried a jump knee, only to slip off the attempt. Collard then came up short on his own flying knee in respect.

Then, along the fence, Collard landed a blow that crumpled Pettis, set up with a body shot. Pettis somehow survived, covering up, but when he was back to his feet, he was far from recovered. Collard was flat-out piecing Pettis up, smelling blood in the water. Lighting up the body and going upstairs as well. Soon, Pettis was rocked a second time, care of a body shot, and was circling and retreating more than fighting. Moments later, he was dropped a second time, and Collard moved in for the kill. Pettis turtled up, and it seemed like the finish was imminent. But the ref gave him all sorts of leeway, and Pettis finished the round working on a triangle off his back.

Round three found Anthony Pettis in need of a finish. Collard meanwhile appeared to have injured his left hand. Pettis landed a left hand, a kick that was blocked, and seemed to have some life in him yet. But a caught kick saw Collard dump Pettis and chop at his legs some more. On the way up, Pettis wound up rocked by a Collard right hand, but he’d land a spinning back fist a moment later. Collard, out of character, threw out a wheel kick, falling short. Pettis was retreating, and the strong start he’d hand to the round had dissipated.

Late in the final round, however, a head kick landed for Pettis! Collard was rocked, and a knee put him down. He wasn’t out, though, and tied Pettis up. When Pettis could finally free himself, he glanced another head kick off Collard’s dome, but time was up. Pettis had stolen the round, but he’d lost the war.

Official Result: Clay Collard def. Anthony Pettis by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)

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While both men had superb ground games, it was an early exchange of heavy leather that opened up the fight on Friday. Both men found success, but surprisingly, it was Poland’s Held, known for his leg locks, who seemed to have the upper hand early. Straight punches and 1-2 combos hit home for Held. Schulte fired a low kick; Held fired back with a combo punctuated with an uppercut.

Later in the round, the pair would tie up along the fence, but it was only a brief reprieve from the striking battle. To start the second frame, the pair were right back at it. Held hit home early, but Schulte’s chin was holding up. The uppercut continued to be a weapon for Held, but soon, he was backing up, with the champ looking to be the fresher man. When they did go to the ground, care of a double-leg takedown by Held, Schulte was right back up — signalling, perhaps, that he believed Held had the advantage in that realm.

Knees and uppercuts from Held hit home early in the third round on Friday. He appeared to have something of a second wind to start the frame. Held landed to the body with a kick, but Schulte responded, with a kick he’d found success with several times in the fight. Held’s body was beginning to show some redness. Schulte then landed a heavy right hand. Held held on (pun only semi-intended), and they would continue to trade through the end of the round. More often than not, throughout the fight, Held had the upper hand on the feet.

It was Held that took home the victory in the end, thanks to a rather new wrinkle in his game: solid, crisp striking.

Official Result: Marcin Held def. Natan Schulte by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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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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Schulte (20-3-1) faces Marcin Held in the first Professional Fighters League event since 2019, this year’s PFL 1. Held is a UFC and Bellator MMA veteran with a wealth of tournament experience, and he predicted an early submission against the defending champ.

“He’s a fighter with tremendous experience on the ground,” Schulte replied during this week’s PFL 1 media day. “The same way he’s going to try to implement his game and submit me, I’m going to keep moving forward and attempt to submit him, or knock him out in the first round.”

With the PFL taking 2020 off due to the coronavirus pandemic, Schulte has had plenty of down time. “It was a great year to work on my fundamentals and fine-tune my game, and not necessarily have to worry about fights,” he told Cageside Press.

Now, the champ returns to a very different lightweight division, including names like Held, and former UFC/WEC champion Anthony Pettis. Pettis has been looked upon as the favorite to win the division, despite Schulte’s presence.

Schulte appreciates that Pettis raises the division’s profile, making it look even better. But he doesn’t see Pettis as the favorite. “He might be the biggest name in the weight class, but I don’t see him as the toughest fight,’ said Schulte, who is gunning for a fight with Pettis regardless. “A fight and a win over him is something I look forward to, it’s going to make my resume look even better.”

Watch the full PFL 1 media day interview with Natan Schulte above. The event takes place Friday, April 23 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and airs live on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

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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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The man he faces is NCAA Division I champion and former Brave CF featherweight champion Bubba Jenkins. Palmer and Jenkins have somewhat of a storied past. The pair wrestled each other all the way back to their teenage years, and that carried over into college. In the Big Ten Championships back in 2008, Jenkins beat Palmer twice, something that Jenkins continues to hold over Palmer’s head.

It doesn’t seem matter to Palmer much.

“That was thirteen years ago, when we wrestled,” Palmer said during PFL 1 media day this week. “He beat me more times than I beat him that year; that’s basically all that it comes down to. That was 2008, so if he’s dwelling on 2008, then I hope so because this is a completely different sport, and I’m a completely different athlete than I was in 2008. I mean, there isn’t much to touch on there, we do have a history, so I guess that’s what he is trying to hang his hat on.”

Palmer is riding an 11-fight win streak going into his fight with Jenkins. He’s never been beaten under the Professional Fighters League banner, and sees Jenkins’ only path to victory as a knockout if he catches Palmer off his game.

“I feel like I’m going to finish him. I don’t know what round, I don’t care to care to make a prediction honestly but, um, I agree if he catches me and knocks me out is the only way he can win this fight,” Palmer said.

Watch the full PFL 1 2021 media day interview with Lance Palmer above. This year’s PFL 1 card takes place live in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Friday, April 23. The event airs on ESPN+ and ESPN 2.

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“I was really happy about it. I know he’s really good, but I like tough opponents, I like to fight with a good guy,” stated Held (26-7) during the PFL 1 media day. Tough opponents are something Held, who began his professional MMA career in 2008 at the age of just 16, has been facing for a long time. “I don’t feel big pressure; I like to be an underdog. This fight, it’s good for me.”

Held is also a fan of the tournament format, and for good reason. For one thing, he’s a previous winner of one of Bellator’s tournaments, their season 10 tournament in 2014. For another, “I really like it, because I like to have fights close to each other. I don’t like to have a big break,” he said.

“In Bellator and here, when you are prepared good, it’s enough to come back to the gym and keep this high level. You don’t have to make a training camp again and again and again,” Held continued. “When you are in good shape, just keep it for a longer time, and you can do three, four, five fights.”

Held fought in a one-night tournament early in his career, as well as in multiple Bellator tournaments. It’s not entirely an advantage, because outside of fellow newcomer Anthony Pettis, “a lot of guys in my category was fighting in the last season. So they also had experience in this format, they were fighting in PFL before,” Held observed. “So I don’t think it would be my advantage, but I know I feel good in it. I feel good to be in a tournament, so it’s not a disadvantage for me.”

Watch the full PFL 1 media day interview with Marcin Held above.

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