Collard edges Burgos in slugfest, advances to PFL finals

Former UFC featherweight Shane Burgos will not have a chance to win $1 million this year - but he may have just wrapped up the Fight of the Year award instead.

With a spot in the PFL finals up for grabs, Clay Collard and Burgos produced one of the best fights in PFL history Wednesday night. Collard beat Burgos, one of the PFL's high-profile free-agent signings for the 2023 season, via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in the PFL 9 main event in New York City.

Collard, also a UFC veteran, will face Olivier Aubin-Mercier in the $1-million lightweight final Nov. 24 in Washington D.C. Aubin-Mercier defeated Bruno Miranda by second-round TKO in Wednesday's other lightweight semifinal bout.

Collard-Burgos was a three-round brawl that took place entirely on the feet. Collard used pressure to overwhelm Burgos on the feet in the first round, and then he knocked him down with a huge left punch in the second.

However, Burgos showed off his toughness and rallied back in the third. He landed several damaging low kicks to make it a close fight.

Collard outlanded Burgos in total strikes by a margin of 193-116.

Collard is headed to the PFL finals for the first time. The 30-year-old missed the playoffs last year, and he was eliminated in the semifinals in 2021. Collard defeated Yamato Nishikawa and Stevie Ray in his two 2023 regular season bouts.

Burgos is now 1-2 under the PFL banner after beating Nishikawa and losing to Aubin-Mercier in the regular season. The 32-year-old New Yorker did not initially qualify for the postseason. He joined the playoff bracket after the PFL removed former lightweight champion Natan Schulte due to a timid victory over teammate Raush Manfio.

Burgos parted ways with the UFC as a free agent in August 2022 to sign with the PFL. "Hurricane" was riding a two-fight winning streak at the time of his departure.