Lightweights kick off $1M season in which Clay Collard defeats ex-UFC star Jeremy Stephens

JEREMY STEPHENS and Clay Collard saved the best for last as they refereed the Professional Fighters League’s 2022 season opener.

The PFL is MMA’s only league format to span a regular season and playoffs.

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Fighters in eight different weight classes compete in the two-fight regular season, earning points for your winning methods.

The top four advance to the playoffs, a two-round quarterfinals, and a three-round semifinals the same night, and the winner advances to the championship finals.

Up for grabs is the life-changing $1 million cash prize and the lightweights and light heavyweights that opened the 2022 season in Dallas, where SunSport sat at the cage.

Robert Wilkinson started with a win over Bruce Souto on round two that earned him five points.

Omari Akhmedov upped the ante after brutally defeating Viktor Pesta in round one to secure sixth place.

Martin Hamlet then took three with a decision win over Teodoras Aukstuolis, the same result as lightweight Alexander Martinez who defeated Scot Stevie Ray.

Emiliano Sordi, the 2019 champion, was then stunned in round two by Cory Hendricks, who walked away with five points.

Oliver Aubin-Mercier started with the main card and edged out Natan Schulte with a razor-sharp split decision to earn three points.

Light Heavyweight Reining Champion Antonio Carlos Jr. made light work of Delan Monte with a 28-second assist that gave him the maximum six points.

In the co-main event, Lightweight Champion Raush brutally defeated Manfio Don Madge in round three to earn four points.

But the headline of the night lived up to the billing and ex-UFC star Stephens and pro boxer Collard delivered a thriller.

And after three laps of uninterrupted pace it was Collard who emerged victorious, with three points on the good.

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