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Clay Collard survived an early knockdown Friday to rally and defeat former Bellator lightweight champion Patricky Freire in PFL regular season action.
The lightweight bout was on the 2024 PFL 2 main card at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The back-and-forth brawl ended by TKO at 1:32 of Round 2 after Collard (25-12) landed consecutive sequences of punches on Freire (25-13).
PFL debutant Freire protested referee Keith Peterson’s stoppage, but to no avail. Collard earned five points in the lightweight standings.
CLAY COLLARD!!! HE IS BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN! 5 POINTS FOR “CASSIUS”#PFLRegularSeason LIVE NOW
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🌎 https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI pic.twitter.com/nSgalZj1RG— PFL (@PFLMMA) April 13, 2024
Collard, 31, snaps a two-fight skid. He lost in the 2023 PFL lightweight final to Olivier Aubin-Mercier and then was quickly submitted by A.J. McKee at the PFL vs. Bellator: Champions event in February.
Pitbull, 38, falls to 2-5 in his most recent seven fights. The TKO defeat Friday was his first since Michael Chandler put him away in 2016 (aside from a doctor stoppage in 2021).
The up-to-the-minute 2024 PFL 2 results include:
- Clay Collard def. Patricky Freire via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:32
- Michael Dufort def. Mads Burnell via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 1:03
- Josh Silveira def. Sadibou Sy via TKO (injury) – Round 1, 1:14
- Antonio Carlos Junior def. Simon Biyong via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:34
- Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov def. Jakob Nedoh via TKO (punch) – Round 1, 2:54
- Brent Primus def. Gabriel Miranda via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:49
- Gadzhi Rabadanov def. Solomon Renfro via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Elvin Espinoza def. Adam Piccolotti via knockout (flying knee) – Round 3, 2:23
- Marcelo Nunes def. Jordan Heiderman via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:40
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL 2.
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