Randy Couture concerned with Lance Palmer’s mindset entering PFL 6

The pressure is on for a pair of the most high-profile Professional Fighters League competitors heading into Friday’s action from Atlantic City’s Ocean Casino Resort.

Anthony Pettis, the former UFC lightweight champion in his first PFL season, and Lance Palmer, the featherweight champ in each of the league’s first two seasons, are in need of impressive victories to qualify for the league’s semifinal events in August. 

Factor in that the full slate of heavyweight and women’s lightweight combatants will decide who fills out the four playoff berths in each division, and you’ve got the recipe for what PFL color commentator and UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture expects will be “a crazy night” at PFL 6, which airs its main card beginning at 10 p.m. on ESPN2.

Couture, who spoke with The Post on Wednesday via Zoom, was surprised to find Palmer in particular, as well as fellow two-time champion Natan Schulte, on the outside looking into the playoff picture at this point. Lightweight Schulte’s fate depends on how Pettis, who lost his league debut on April 23, fares against Raush Manfio in the co-main event, while Palmer needs an early finish against Movlid Khaybulaev to earn enough standings points to advance.

“It was certainly surprising to see Natan and Lance both go down after having two perfect seasons back-to-back,” said Couture, a pioneer of the sport who won championships both before and after it settled on a unified set of rules two decades ago. “And then Anthony Pettis is arguably one of the most dynamic fighters we’ve seen in our sport in the last 10 years, and to see him get beat [by Clay Collard] was pretty crazy as well.

“…There’s just been a ton of upsets, [a] ton of stuff you just can’t predict, which is what I love about the sport. It’s been a blast.”

Anthony Pettis
Anthony Pettis
PFL

Half of the four-man playoff field remains up for grabs at lightweight, with both Pettis and Manfio in the mix. A finish of any kind would do the trick for Pettis. A win of any kind would ensure Manfio moves on, as would a draw or even a no contest. Schulte and Alexander Martinez remain in the mix, but neither control their own fates.

While Pettis is far more credentialed, Couture credits the “very tough” Manfio, who is coming off a split decision win over Joilton Lutterbach two months ago. That said, he likes the former top 155-pounder who reigned in the UFC from 2013-15.

“I think Anthony gets it done,” Couture said. “Raush is gonna go out and try to establish his ground game, put him on the ground. … I think they’re both solid strikers, but Pettis is so much more dynamic in a lot of situations. But I expect that to be a really fun fight to watch.”

At 145 pounds, Palmer is in need of a first-round stoppage to stay alive in pursuit of the $1 million prize for season winners, the prize he banked twice on New Year’s Eve in 2018 and 2019. If opponent Khaybulaev earns a win, he would secure the final spot. Any other scenario would allow Sheymon Moraes to qualify on the strength of his second-round finish of Jesse Stim two weeks ago.

Randy Couture
Randy Couture
PFL

Couture believes there are reasons to be concerned with both Palmer and Khaybulaev’s ability to get the job done Friday. The former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion highlighted Palmer requesting the fight be delayed from its originally-planned date on June 10, as well as Khaybulaev having battled a staph infection in the leadup to this fight.

“Lance having to push the two weeks, something’s definitely going on there,” Couture speculated. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s not like him. He’s so methodical most of the time, so to see him a little out of sorts, and I’m not sure if he was ill or what was going on, but he just said something’s wrong and I have to push the fight two weeks.”

Palmer is coming off the first defeat of his PFL run — although he had lost when the organization formerly was known as World Series of Fighting and operated as a more traditional fight promotion. That fight, against Bubba Jenkins in April, saw Palmer outwrestled by his former college wrestling rival in a development that wasn’t entirely surprising given their history.

“Bubba definitely got in Lance’s head, at least from what I can see and let him outwrestle him and make it a wrestling match instead of making it a fight,” said Couture, himself a former three-time All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State who represented the United States three times as an Olympic alternate in Greco-Roman wrestling. “So I think he’s trying to recover psychologically, more than anything, from that.”

PFL 6 is headlined by women’s lightweight star Kayla Harrison, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo who won the league’s first women’s season at 155 pounds in 2019. She’s the overwhelming favorite to win this season and has all but qualified for the semifinals ahead of her bout against one-time UFC veteran Cindy Dandois.

“Kayla is firing on all cylinders,” Couture said of the unbeaten Harrison, who ran through Mariana Morais in 83 seconds on May 6. “She looks to be as sharp as I’ve ever seen her.”

As for the big men, Couture said he’s most excited for 40-year-old Brandon Sayles’ return to action against Denis Goltsov. The fighter-turned-broadcaster shares plenty in common with Sayles, an Army Combatives instructor, as an U.S. Army veteran who found the bulk of his success as a heavyweight in his late 30s and 40s.

To top it off, Sayles looked impressive in dispatching Mohammed Usman via second-round submission in early May and is well positioned to reach the postseason regardless of how his bout goes. The same goes for Goltsov, the top-ranked heavyweight remaining in the season (according to data-based Fight Matrix) who secured a first-round TKO victory over Muhammed DeReese in his first 2021 season bout.

“I like Sayles,” said Couture, naming him his early favorite to win it all this year. “I think he’s been very, very impressive. He’s got his weight a little more under control coming in this time, so he’ll have a little more energy. 

“And he’s gonna need it. Goltsov is a solid warrior. And that’s gonna be the fight of the night, in my opinion.”

Leave a Comment