Clay Collard hopes to box again before PFL season begins

Boxer and MMA fighter Clay Collard has a boxing bout coming up on Dec. 12 but will fight with MMA promotion PFL in 2021. He hopes to box before the season.

Clay Collard has made the most of 2020 inside a boxing ring, but he’ll return to the MMA cage in 2021 for the PFL fight season. The question is, can he do both?

Collard (9-2-3, 4 KOs) grew up boxing and wrestling. He had over 100 amateur boxing bouts but turned professional as an MMA fighter in 2011 before giving pro boxing a shot in 2017. The television show The Ultimate Fighter had a lot to do with that decision.

“So I started wrestling when I was about six years old, and I was a pretty good wrestler,” Collard told FanSided. “I figured if I could wrestle the boxers and box the wrestlers that I’d beat up everybody, you know? That was one reason. Another reason is I watched the very first season of The Ultimate Fighter with my mom. Me and her watched it together. And I told her mom, I’m going to do that one day.”

Collard decided at 12 years old that he was going to be an MMA fighter, which guided his path in combat sports. He eventually found his way to boxing with fair results, but the pandemic forced Collard’s hand in delving more seriously into boxing.

He has an impressive 18-8 record in MMA and was supposed to participate in the 2020 PFL fight season until it was canceled because of the pandemic. Collard focused on boxing to pay the bills. His dedication to boxing paid dividends as he upset then-undefeated middleweight David Kaminsky on ESPN. It was a gritty performance that put Collard on the boxing map. His fan-pleasing style earned him fast popularity.

“That that all had to do with my coach, man,” said Collard. “My coach is an old-time boxer. He was really big in the amateurs and he had all those connections. I started winning fights and beating undefeated guys. Top Rank called me and our, we called them. I don’t remember. One or the other. They wanted me to fight Kaminsky. We took the fight and been fighting for them ever since.”

Clay Collard plans to continue boxing and competing as an MMA fighter headed into 2021

Collard stayed active, winning his next two fights inside the MGM Grand bubble on ESPN by TKO. His fame grew, and he became a name that fans love to watch fight. He was set to fight Quincy LaVallais in October. It would have been a rematch. They fought to a draw in June of 2019.

Unfortunately, Collard tested positive for COVID-19 and the fight was cancelled. He didn’t experience symptoms and continued training while in quarantine.

“Throughout the quarantine, I did what I could— push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, you know, burpees here at the house,” said Collard. “And then, as soon as the two weeks was up, I was back in the gym working. It didn’t phase me at all, man. Like I said, I’m young and healthy, and I just breezed through that. So it was nothing to me, man.”

Collard and LaVallais are finally set to meet for the second time on Saturday, Dec. 12, on the Shakur Stevenson vs. Toka Kahn Clary undercard. He’s confident that he will win the rematch. Collard feels like should have been the victor in their first fight.

“Honestly, I thought I did enough to win the fight,” declared Collard. “We fought over in Louisiana where he’s from and, and they made a big deal, you know when he came out about him and his coach and everything. I thought I did enough to win the fight.”

After his contest with LaVallais, Collard hopes he can box a few more times before the PFL season starts.

“Honestly, I think once the tournament starts, I’m signed with PFL,” said Collard. “I have a contract with them, so it’s solely up to them whether they let me box or not throughout the year. I would like to get a couple more boxing matches in maybe in January, February before that tournament starts in April. If they allow me to do that, I would love that.”

Once the PFL season starts, Collard is committed to winning the whole thing and the $1 million prize. After that, he wants to take a run at a boxing title.

“I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t believe I could win the title,” said Collard assuredly. “I think I’m one of the best strikers period, and I want to prove that. I want to be one of the first people to take a belt in both boxing and mixed martial arts.”

If Collard could win titles in MMA and boxing, he would be the Bo Jackson of combat sports. Collard has a history of making doubters into believers. He looks to keep his winning ways through the end of 2020 and into the new year.

You can watch Clay Collard vs. Quincy LaVallais on the undercard of Shakur Stevenson vs. Toka Kahn Clary on Saturday, Dec. 12. Undercard coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The main card airs on ESPN at 10 p.m. ET.