Brent Primus was a longtime veteran of Bellator prior to joining PFL, going 10-3 (1 NC) in the promotion and at one point capturing the Bellator lightweight championship with a win over Michael Chandler. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt now looks to capture Lightweight gold in a second major MMA promotion. He reaches the semifinals tonight off submission wins over Bruno Miranda and Solomon Renfro during the regular season, earning him the No. 1 seed.

 

Clay Collard has long been a popular figure in the PFL since making his debut in the promotion in 2021. Collard, who has 15 finishes in his 25 professional MMA wins, brings excitement to the SmartCage while consistently being near the top of the PFL’s Lightweight division. Collard has yet to achieve success in the postseason, however, falling just short in last year’s title fight against Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Collard earned the No. 4 seed after finishing Patricky Pitbull but dropping a decision to Mads Burnell.

 

Who clinches the first spot in the 2024 PFL Lightweight World Championship bout?

 

 

Round 1

 

Low kick from Primus. Collard flashes his left jab. Collard with two more jabs and a low kick. Primus comes forward and lands a jab to the body. One-two to the body from Collard. Low kick from Primus. Collard lands a right hand. Primus pushes Collard to the fence. Primus wraps the leg. Collard is unable to get his leg free, and Primus scores the takedown. Collard gets to his feet, but Primus has a standing body lock and is looking for a choke.

 

Primus continues to make Collard carry his weight as he looks to work. Primus landing a few punches to the side of the head. Primus has a cradle lock, with one leg around Collard, looking to take the fight to the mat. Primus continues to land upstairs with the positioning they are in. Primus cranks the neck with the last 10 seconds or so of the round. Collard goes to his knees. Primus works with the left hand before the bell.

 

 

 

Round 2

 

Primus lands a left hand. Right hand from Collard. One-two from Collard, as he tries to show the speed of his strikes. Primus presses Collard into the fence. Primus tangles up Collard’s legs with his own and scores the trip less than a minute into the round. Primus gets on top. Collard scrambles, and Primus gets a hold of his back. Primus gets the hooks in and is looking for a choke with both men up against the fence. Collard gets back to his feet, but Primus again has a standing body lock on him. Primus again starts to work with punches upstairs, trying to weaken Collard’s defenses against the triangle.

 

A little bit of blood trickles from the face of Collard, perhaps from the punches. Collard’s position weakens, as he falls to his knees. Primus lays in some ground-and-pound, bringing relentless pressure on the ground. Collard moves but still has Primus on him. Primus lands three big punches to the head. Primus landing some strong left hands. Collard unable to escape from Primus’s positioning.

 

 

 

Round 3

 

One-two from Collard. Primus looks for a takedown again, but Collard defends. Collard, however, walks into a punch. Collard trying to come forward with pressure. Collard throws a knee, and Primus catchers it and brings Collard right back down. Collard rolls out, however. Primus looks for a second effort, looking for another takedown with Collard against the fence. Primus gets Collard down. Collard gets back to his feet, and Primus is right back into the backpack position. Collard works and shakes, trying to get Primus off, and he’s able to get Primus down!

 

 

Collard looks for a little ground-and-pound. Collard lands an axe kick to the stomach. Primus tells Collard to come to the ground, but the fight goes back to the feet. Collard lands an uppercut. Three-punch combination by Collard. Collard backing Primus up. Collard lands a left hand, but Primus locks him up and presses Collard against the SmartCage. Collard tries to pummel. Primus, however, gets to Collard’s back and gets him back to the floor. Primus lands a couple of right hands and looks to lock the hooks in. Primus has a body triangle on him and is looking to attack the neck. Collard struggles with frustration, trying to land punches to the head with Primus on him. The bell sounds.

 

Brent Primus with complete domination! He’s one fight away now from scoring another lightweight championship in MMA!

 

 

OFFICIAL RESULT

 

Brent Primus defeats Clay Collard by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27x2) in the PFL lightweight semifinals, earning a spot in the 2024 PFL World Championship

  • Primus clinches a PFL Championship berth in his first PFL Season. He’ll face the winner of Gadzhi Rabadanov vs. Michael Dufort for the 2024 PFL Lightweight World Title and $1 million
  • Primus moves his career record to 15-3
  • Primus is a former Bellator Lightweight Champion