Clay Collard-Jeremy Stephens Has ‘Fight Of The Year’ Potential

The PFL returns this week with the 2022 regular season debut.

And boy are fight fans in for a treat.

Headlining the card on Wednesday from the Esports Stadium Arlington in Texas will be Clay Collard vs. Jeremy Stephens.

The main card action, which includes two more lightweight regular season bouts, airs live on ESPN and ESPN+. Prelims stream live on ESPN+.

Before we get into Collard vs. Stephens, here is the quick look at the rest of the lineup.

Reigning lightweight champion Raush Manfio begins his title defense against Don Badge. Also at 155 pounds, former champion Natan Schulte battles Olivier Aubin-Mercier.

The 2021 light heavyweight winner, Antonio Carlos Junior, takes on Delan Monte.

On the prelims, Emiliano Sordi, Stevie Ray and Omark Akhmedov are all set to compete.

But the eyes of the mixed martial arts world will be fixed on Collard and Stephens.

Collard, a former UFC fighter, made it to the 2021 semifinals before falling to Manfio by decision. He earned wins over Anthony Pettis and Joilton Lutterbach during the PFL season.

During COVID, Collard took advantage of an opportunity to box, competing six times in 2020 and going 5-1 with five consecutive wins.

He will now extend the door for Stephens in the PFL. While competing inside the Octagon, Stephens tied Anderson Silva for the second-most knockdowns in UFC history with 18.

He won “Knockout of the Night” honors three times and “Fight of the Night” six more with a “Performance of the Night” bonus added in.

This will be the 49th career fight in the career of Stephens, who owns wins over the likes of Gilbert Melendez, Dennis Bermudez, Renan Barao and Rafael dos Anjos.