Pettis A -600 Favorite For PFL Debut

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 155-pound champion Anthony Pettis will make his highly-anticipated debut for Professional Fighters League (PFL) as part of the 2021 lightweight tournament, which gets underway tomorrow night (Fri., April 23, 2021) inside Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, NJ, live on ESPN2.

And he’ll do it as the -600 favorite.

That’s according to the oddsmakers over at BetOnline.ag, who pegged fellow UFC export Clay Collard as the +400 underdog. With roughly 24 hours before the books close, there’s little chance that line will move in either direction, unless someone decides to dump a boatload of late money on “Cassius.”

Pettis, who turned 34 back in January, parted ways with UFC after winning back-to-back fights over Donald Cerrone and Alex Morono. In the process, “Showtime” pushed his record to 24-10 with 11 knockouts and seven submissions, which includes finishes over Stephen Thompson and Charles Oliveira.

“Clay Collard I say is one of those guys that doesn’t have a lot of video to watch,” Pettis said. “So, I’m taking away that mindset of studying my opponents ‘cause it’s so quick. I got a quick turnaround where if I get obsessed with this style of fighting it’s gonna be hard to switch my game plan for the next style, the next style, and the next style… So, I’m kinda just going into the gym with the mindset of I know what he’s good at. I know what I’m good at. I’m gonna go focus on my skill set, sharpen my tools, and just be ready for anything. I don’t feel like he’s gonna bring in something brand new that I’ve never seen before.”

Collard (18-8, 1 NC), who holds a professional boxing record of 9-4 with four knockouts, is coming off back-to-back wins over Randall Wallace and Lucas Montoya on the regional circuit. “Cassius” has now won four of his last five and looks to parlay that success into a lightweight championship — and $1 million prize — later this year.

It all starts tomorrow night in “The Garden State.”