All Pieces in Place for Clay Collard

Clay Collard has acquired his next target in the Professional Fighters League’s lightweight division.

“Cassius” will square off with Bellator MMA veteran Alfie Davis in the first round of the 2025 PFL World Tournament on April 18 at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Collard has participated in some of the biggest bouts in PFL history at 155 pounds, but with a new format now in place, he seeks that which has thus far eluded him: a championship. He made four appearances in 2024 and added to his highlight reel with a second-round technical knockout of Patricky Freire, but losses to Mads Burnell and Brent Primus left him short of his desired result for the season.

Collard admits a tournament without a tune-up raises the stakes considerably.

“It’s definitely a lot more stressful in the sense that if you lose one fight, you’re out,” he told Sherdog.com. “You definitely have to show up with your A game. There’s a little bit of nervousness there, but for me, I just want to get in there, get it done and move on. I don’t think people will be trying for those first-round knockouts.”

A member of the PFL roster since 2021, Collard has enjoyed plenty of success with the company—he was a lightweight finalist two years ago—while growing familiar with its mode of operations. However, he points to a major move in his personal life as the X factor in his latest bid for a title.

“At the end of the day, a fight is a fight,” he said. “I feel like this year is going to be a lot different for me because I packed up and moved. I was staying in Idaho, and I was three hours away from my coach. I was traveling from Idaho to Utah every three or four days, and it was really stressful and hard for me to focus on training. I convinced my wife, and we packed up our kids and everything we own. Now, I’m 15 minutes away from the gym.”

Collard knows one wrong move can change everything in a single-elimination tournament format. He leaned into a renewed sense of purpose ahead of his upcoming battle with Davis.

“I was just training with my coach the other day and doing some bag work,” Collard said. “I was beating up the heavy bag, and at the end of the round, coach looked over and said it was the most dangerous I’ve ever been. So f--- yes, I feel dangerous coming into this tournament.”

Collard views Davis as the ideal dance partner.

“They gave me the striker out of the bunch, so that’s exciting,” he said. “He’s got some dangerous kicks, so I’ll want to back him up and keep him on his back foot. I can take a shot, but head kicks are no fun to take. They gave me the guy who is going to want to stand there and throw blows, and there hasn’t been a man who wants to stand in front of me and do that.”

At 32 years of age and with 40 mixed martial arts bouts already under his belt, Collard understands he may not be able to stay at the peak of his powers much longer. The opportunity in front of him provides all the motivation he requires.

“The last thing we need is a belt, and then we can wrap it up,” Collard said. “I’m really excited about the opponents this year. They’re all game. I’ve lost to a couple of them, but there’s a lot of talent in the division and that’s what I live for. I’m ready. I’m training more than I ever have in every one of my PFL runs. My back is against the wall. We’re going to show up and show out.”