Lance Palmer: Road to the PFL Championship
Making his debut in the company at WSOF 7, Lance Palmer has been with the World Series of Fighting/PFL promotion since back in 2013. Since then, he has twice become the champion and will look to do so for a third time on New Year’s Eve at the PFL Finals. To make it to the playoffs, Palmer ran through two opponents with rear-naked choke submissions to lock up the second seed in the playoffs. The first of those casualties was Bekbulat Magomedov, the former WSOF Bantamweight Champion and grappling ace. This was the first time Magomedov had ever been finished in his career.
Palmer followed up with an equally impressive performance against UFC veteran, Jumabieke Tuerxun. This fight was complete domination by Palmer from start to finish. He secured takedowns in each round and stayed busy enough to stay on the mat. He took Teurxun’s back multiple times, especially while standing. Finally, Palmer was able to get to the back on the ground and finish a dominant fight late in the third round to clinch the second seed in the playoffs. Earning the second seed put him in position to notch a unanimous decision win over Max Coga before turning around for a rematch with Andre Harrison, one of just three men ever to defeat Palmer.
In their first fight for the World Series of Fighting Featherweight Title, Harrison pieced up Palmer on the feet and dropped him in the first round. By the second round, Lance Palmer found himself on his back on the mat; a very unfamiliar position for him. In the fifth round, Harrison dropped him one more time and got the nod on the scorecards. This fight stayed primarily on the feet in Harrison’s territory. The second fight was an entirely different story.
The semi-final bout started with a bit of a feeling out process and looked like it could be well on its way to another favorable matchup for Harrison. Fortunately for Palmer, one takedown in the second round changed everything. In a matter of seconds, he landed the takedown, transitioned to the back and sunk both hooks in. Harrison got to his feet but Palmer refused to let go, becoming the most inconvenient backpack in the Western Hemisphere. Carrying Palmer around for the rest of the round was understandably tiring for Harrison. With his opponent fatigued, Lance Palmer scored another clutch takedown less than a half minute into the final round and made his way to Harrison’s back again. From that point forward, Harrison never returned to his feet and Lance Palmer secured his spot in the PFL Final.
Sweet revenge of a former defeat and spoiling Andre Harrison’s perfect record was likely Lance Palmer’s main goal in this tournament, but on New Year’s Eve, he has a chance to become a millionaire. Each PFL Champion earns a $1 million payday to end the season. For Palmer to do so, he will have to get through the top seed, Steven Siler. The twist here is that this fight is actually a rematch as well. Palmer and Siler threw down in the first ever PFL show which was not part of their “regular season.” Lance Palmer dominated that fight in his typical fashion. Takedowns reigned supreme and the All-American wrestler grinded out a decision win with control, pressure, and ground and pound. If he can repeat this performance at Madison Square Garden, Lance Palmer will walk out a millionaire and a world champion.