It’s truly not cockiness. Lance Palmer is just being honest.
The World Series of Fighting (WSOF) featherweight champ talks about his upcoming tilt against longtime veteran Chris Horodecki with a tranquility more fit for a stroll around the neighborhood than for a trip inside the steel cage.
Palmer is relaxed and prepared, and he sees nothing in Horodecki that makes him want to change his demeanor.
“I feel like I’m better everywhere,” Palmer told Bleacher Report. “He’s just been around for longer. I’m just going to go out there and perform. If I perform, I don’t think he can touch me, and that’s what I plan to do.”
Palmer’s confidence is rooted in reason. A four-time All-American wrestler at the Ohio State University, Palmer transitioned to MMA four years ago, shacking up with Sacramento’s esteemed Team Alpha Male to round out his game.
His rapid improvements led him to the WSOF featherweight title in short order, and now he looks to add a championship defense to his already cluttered mantle. Against Horodecki, Palmer doesn’t see a path of least resistance to achieve this goal.
He just plans on owning the Polish fighter everywhere.
“I know his main thing is striking, but his last few fights he’s won by taking guys down,” Palmer said. “Whatever he wants to do is fine with me, but I’m going to dictate the pace, dictate the pressure. Whether I take him out on the feet or on the ground, it doesn’t matter to me as long as I get the finish.”
Horodecki, who has been known as a striker with crafty submissions throughout his career, has recently begun to add a wrestle-heavy attack to his arsenal, notching his last two wins via unanimous decision through control and patience.
Against, Palmer, however, this will not work. The amateur wrestling stud embraces this grinding style as well as anyone in the sport today, and Horodecki will not be the man to best him at it.
“I’d like to see him try to take me down,” Palmer said. “I think if he wants to go there with me, that’s his mistake. But I’ve trained for everything. Just because you’re a wrestler doesn’t mean he won’t try to shoot in on you.
“If you’re getting tagged on the feet, most guys dive in or try to set up a takedown, so I train for the fight to go everywhere and trained for 25 minutes. I’m going to keep this belt and come away with the victory.”
After Horodecki, the WSOF featherweight roster is thin. Moving down to bantamweight to continue this title reign, Palmer notes, is definitely not an option.
“I think 145 is the lowest amount of weight I’ll ever make in my life,” Palmer said. “To make 135, I’d have to cut something off.”
Taking a trip up to lightweight is more reasonable, he said, but even then, he puts his faith in the promotion to bring new bodies into his own weight class. Moving around is possible—he just doesn’t want the situation to come to that.
“I could [go to 155], but as long as I go out and do well in this fight, I’m the champ at 145, so I think 145 is my home,” Palmer said. “I could fight at 155, I could fight at 170 and not cut any weight, but that’s not my weight class. I think 145 is where I feel comfortable. I’m sure they’ll sign some guys.”
For a fighter like Palmer—a standout collegiate athlete with world-class training partners and dedication to his craft—the cloud of the UFC looms large. Fans and critics will always compare the best fighters in the world to those competing under the UFC banner, a point Palmer recognizes.
The company’s recent partnership with Reebok has suddenly made the promotion less appealing in the eyes of some fighters, though—including fighters currently under UFC contract.
To Palmer, however, the UFC is still the big show. The Reebok deal isn’t perfect, and he’d make less sponsorship money to step inside the Octagon, but he still recognizes the promotion for what it is.
“The UFC is the biggest show there is, and it’s been around forever,” Palmer said. “I think they’re going to continue to be the big show for a long time, but it is what it is. I know a lot of the UFC guys aren’t happy with it. Even a lot of the champions have spoken out that they’re not happy with it.”
“Reebok’s had deals with the NFL and stuff like that, so I’m sure there’s going to be some sort of compensation,” he continued. “People try to compare the UFC deal to the NFL deal, but it doesn’t compare at all. It’s not the same, because you’re going out there and you’re playing a game of football. The UFC guys rely on that sponsorship money when they go in the cage. It’s nothing like the NFL. The NFL was never a sport where you could wear your own sponsors on your clothes when you went into a game. I think something will change, though. I think [UFC President] Dana [White] and [UFC CEO] Lorenzo Fertitta will figure out a way to keep the guys happy.”
For now, though, Palmer has a job to do. He likes the way the WSOF featherweight strap feels around his waist, and he intends to keep it there.
First Horodecki, then it’s open season in the featherweight division. He’s thinking about future title defenses, but he’s not looking past his opponent.
He’s just being honest.
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