Jeremy Stephens was not out of work for long once the Ultimate Fighting Championship declined to renew his contract.
Stephens will make his Professional Fighters League debut—and his first appearance outside the UFC since 2007—when he squares off with Clay Collard in the PFL 1 lightweight headliner on Wednesday at Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas. The event, which kicks off the promotion’s 2022 campaign, puts the lightweight and light heavyweight divisions under the microscope.
PFL 1 “Collard vs. Stephens”—which airs live on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT—also features a lightweight co-main event matching Raush Manfio with Don Madge, a light heavyweight affair pitting Antonio Carlos Jr. against Delan Monte and a lightweight tilt pairing Natan Schulte with Olivier Aubin-Mercier. The entire six-fight undercard streams to ESPN+ at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.
A closer look at the PFL 1 particulars:
THE LINEUP
155: Clay Collard vs. Jeremy Stephens155: Raush Manfio vs. Don Madge
205: Antonio Carlos Jr. vs. Delan Monte
155: Natan Schulte vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier
205: Emiliano Sordi vs. Cory Hendricks
155: Alex Martinez vs. Steven Ray
205: Marthin Hamlet vs. Teodoras Aukstuolis
205: Omari Akhmedov vs. Viktor Pesta
205: Rob Wilkinson vs. Bruce Souto
205: Simeon Powell vs. Clinton Williams
THE RUNDOWN
• Preview• By The Numbers: Collard vs. Stephens
• 5 Things You Might Not Know About Olivier Aubin-Mercier
• Fight Facts: PFL 2021, A Year in Review
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