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Clay Collard has a great vision for his return to mixed martial arts, which will happen in a few months.
The latest fight didn’t go according to Collard’s plans as he dropped a decision to Quincy LaVallais in their boxing rematch back in December. Even though “Cassius” feels his opponent avoided exchanging and ran from him most of the fight, he isn’t eager to ask to conclude the trilogy anytime soon.
“During the fight, his coach was yelling, ‘Do not engage, do not engage,’” Collard said. “I thought like I was pushing the action, I was touching a little bit more, but he landed that right hand a few times. I thought it was a pretty close fight. You can’t run from me in MMA. I’ll grab you, I’ll take you down. He kept ducking his head down really low. Usually, I throw a knee, but I can’t knee him in boxing. At one point, he went so low his head was in between my legs.”
Collard (18-8 1NC) also revealed that he has one more boxing match before the Professional Fighters League 2021 Season starts. After that, he will focus only on mixed martial arts. And one of the top names on his list is former Ultimate Fighting Championship 155-pound titleholder Anthony Pettis.
“Yeah, give me [Pettis] or the returning champ [Natan Schulte] first,” Collard said. “I do this to be one of the best. You don’t get to be the best when you don’t beat the best. I’m excited, I’ve been watching his fight since I was younger. I believe I’m that caliber, and at that level, I’m able to beat him. I’m excited, give him to me first!”
