Collard will be taking on another fellow MMA fighter.
MMA veteran Clay Collard has made quite the name for himself in the boxing world, and Top Rank has taken notice.
Having pulled off yet another upset victory over an unbeaten prospect, the former UFC fighter is set to return to ESPN airwaves for a July 14th bout against Lowrant-T Nelson, per ESPN’s Steve Kim. That show is expected to be headlined by WBO junior lightweight champion Jamel Herring against Jonathan Oquendo.
Collard (7-2-3, 2 KOs) had a thrilling knockout win over Raymond Guajardo in February, then was put in against the undefeated David Kaminsky last month. He relished his heavy underdog status and implemented his high workrate and rugged style to great success, getting a well-earned decision.
For someone with a reputation for fighting unbeaten fighters, Collard looks to be the A-side here against Nelson, himself an MMA fighter and former GLORY kickboxer. His official pro boxing record is 5-3 (4 KOs), with no notable opponents to his name. All of his GLORY bouts went the distance, including losses to Josh Jauncey and Wensheng Zhang, as well as a win over Ammari Diedrick. In MMA, he’s 9-7 with a loss in Bellator to Cosmo Alexandre.
Collard’s purse for the win over Kaminsky was a paltry $5,000, half of what he made for his last UFC fight against Tiago Trator. What he lacks in significant boxing purses he makes up for in activity; he fought eight times in 2019 and this will be his fourth appearance in 2020, which is incredible given how many months were lost due to the COVID-19 lockdown. None of his bouts has ever been scheduled for more than eight rounds.
Prior to the shutdown, Collard was actually supposed to enter the PFL featherweight tournament, but I don’t need to tell you why that’s not happening this year.
One thing that is certain with Collard is that he comes to fight, so he should provide good entertainment when he does step into the ring.