CLAY COLLARD reckons he is in a different gear to PFL opponent Jeremy Stephens – after taking up boxing to help pay off a car repair.
The American has had 18 professional boxing bouts, with a record of 9–6–3, after a lengthy career in MMA.
He even featured on on Top Rank bills headed up by Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.
But Collard returned to the cage and signed with the Professional Fighters League, an MMA organisation that offers fighters the chance to win $1million.
He beat ex-UFC champion Anthony Pettis, 35, last season but was knocked out by eventual winner Raush Manfio, 30, in the semi-finals.
Collard, 29, returns this year and faces former UFC featherweight Stephens, 35, believing his boxing career has driven him to new levels.
He told MMA Junkie: “One hundred percent, I feel like I have the edge on him in boxing.
“He hits hard. Everybody hits hard. I can take a shot, too. I think Pettis kicked me right upside the head. He still didn’t put me out.
“I’m excited about it. He could swing, but I’m just going to piece him up and pick him apart, and that’s my plan.”
PFL has a quarters, semis and final format, with eight fighters in eight division battling it out for the winner-take-all $1m prize cheque.
So for Collard, the chance to become a millionaire in just three fights is a far cry from five years ago when he started boxing to make more cash.
With his motor needing to be fixed, he took a short-notice fight and was paid just $300 for his eventual win.
Collard recalled to MMAMania: “I wrecked my car and needed a little work on it.
“I was training to come back to mixed martial arts. When I wrecked my car, I thought I could use some quick cash.
“I took a boxing match. At the time, I had just met my coach and I asked him, ‘Hey do you mind cornering me in this boxing match.’
“He looked up who I was fighting and thought I was crazy.
“He was like, ‘What are you doing taking this fight? This guy is way bigger than you, he’s got 200 fights, he’s fought on the Marine boxing team.
“I’m like, ‘Ah, we’ll be alright.’ I ended up winning a split decision.”
Collard would not get to cherish his fixed up ride for long after it was stollen.
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But following 48 combined bouts in both the ring and cage, it afforded the fighter a new set of wheels entirely.
Collard said: “The cops hit me up a couple of years later and said, ‘We pulled some guy over. He has your car. He was driving it drunk.’
“I could have gone and got it from the police impound, but I never bothered. I had a new car by then.”
