Clay Collard
Clay Jordan Collard (born March 10, 1993) is an American professional mixed martial artist and boxer. A professional since 2011, he formerly competed for the UFC. He currently competes in the lightweight division of the Professional Fighters League. Background. Collard grew up in Castle Dale, Utah. Collard started wrestling at the age of six, picking up boxing at the age of 11. Collard attended Emery High School, where he lettered in wrestling. Mixed martial arts career. Early career. Collard took his first and only amateur mixed martial arts bout less than two weeks after his 18th birthday. He  won the bout via 12-second knockout and subsequently turned professional to fight the next weekend. Collard competed solely in Utah regional circuit, amassing a 13–4 (1 NC) record before being signed to the UFC. Ultimate Fighting Championship. Collard made his promotional debut on August 23, 2014 as a short notice replacement against Max Holloway at UFC Fight Night 49, replacing an injured Mirsad Bektic. Collard lost the fight via TKO in the third round. Collard next faced Alex White on December 6, 2014 at UFC 181. Collard won the fight via unanimous decision. Collard faced Gabriel Benítez on June  13, 2015 at UFC 188. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Collard was expected to face Andre Fili on September 5, 2015 at UFC 191. However, Fili was forced out of the bout with injury and replaced by Tiago Trator. Collard lost the fight by split decision and was subsequently released from the promotion. Collard was expected to headline against Arthur Estrázulas on September 6, 2019 but withdrew from the bout due to a short notice call from the UFC. After four years away from UFC, Collard returned to the promotion and was scheduled to face Devonte Smith on  August 17, 2019 at UFC 241 replacing John Makdessi. However, on the fight week news surfaced that Collard withdrew from the fight due to an undisclosed reason and was replaced by promotional newcomer Khama Worthy. Following the ordeal, Collard was released from the promotion again. Professional Fighters League. In March 2020, Collard signed with Professional Fighters League and competes in the lightweight division. He was expected to participate in the season 2020 but due to COVID-19 pandemic the league cancelled the whole season. He is currently competing in the 2021 season. 2021 Season. Collard made his PFL debut against Anthony  Pettis on April 23, 2021 at PFL 1. He won the bout via unanimous decision, out boxing Pettis throughout the bout. Collard faced Joilton Lutterbach at PFL 4 on June 10, 2021. He won the bout via split decision. Collard faced Raush Manfio in the semifinals of the Lightweight tournament on August 13, 2021 at PFL 7. Collard lost the bout via unanimous decision. 2022 Season. Collard faced Jeremy Stephens on April 20, 2022 at PFL 1. In a back and forth affair, Collard won the bout via unanimous decision. Professional boxing career. Collard was initially training boxing only to  improve his offensive striking skills for mixed martial arts. However, he needed money to fix his car so he opted to take a short-notice professional boxing match. He made his professional boxing debut in 2017, winning via split decision.