ARLINGTON, Texas – Chris Wade knows who he wants to face, but thinks it’ll likely happen in the final.
A finalist in the 2021 season, Wade (21-7) defeated Lance Palmer (22-6) by unanimous decision Thursday at 2022 PFL 2 at Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
On the same night, Brendan Loughnane beat Ryoji Kudo by technical decision. Not only can Wade not wait to face him, but he didn’t think he won his fight.
“I want to get my hands on Brendan so badly – so, so badly,” Wade told reporters following PFL 2. “I see the finals as me and him for sure. Yeah, this first fight they didn’t give me any huge favors giving me a two-time world champ out of the gate as a finalist. To me, the guy that (Loughnane) got to fight being like a -1200 favorite, that was like – come on, dude.
“But that dude proved he was tough, too. I was really surprised. I felt bad that he took that cut on his forehead. He was a goer. I didn’t think Brendan won that fight, honestly. We couldn’t hear anything back there, but he didn’t look like he won that fight to me.”
Having already beaten standout wrestler Bubba Jenkins last season, Wade has now added another Division-I wrestler and former champion to his resume. Although not a lot of wrestling was displayed, Wade was happy to get a win over a name like Palmer.
“It’s amazing,” Wade said. “That’s a legacy fight for me, just like the Bubba Jenkins fight, because we all grew up wrestling and those guys are elite wrestlers that have transitioned successfully into MMA. So for me, beating a two-time world champ, you can’t ask for much more than that.”
Check out the full post-fight interview with Wade in the video above.
