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Clay Collard to face Alexander Martinez in PFL second round

Clay Collard will try to continue his march toward a PFL title on June 17, when he takes on Alexander Martinez in Atlanta.

PFL officials announced the lightweight matchup Wednesday. The event, which takes place at OTE Arena, marks the second round of regular-season action.

Collard (21-9) is on a mission in 2022, after his 2021 campaign ended in a decision loss to eventual champion Raush Manfio. Collard, 29, felt he should have won that fight on the scorecards. He got off to a good start earlier this year, when he beat Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision.

After one round of regular-season lightweight matchups, former UFC champion Anthony Pettis is in the lead with six points. Manfio holds second place with four points, while Collard, Martinez and Olivier Aubin-Mercier sit in a three-way tie for third with three.

In addition to lightweight, the light heavyweight division will also compete in its second round of matchups. Last year's champion, Antonio Carlos Jr. (14-5), will appear in the co-main event against Bruce Souto (15-4). Carlos, who is 4-0 since joining the PFL, is leading the pack once again this season, as he scored six points in April with a 29-second submission of Delan Monte.

Former UFC middleweight Omari Akhmedov also scored six points in the opening round.

The full list of second-round matchups includes:

Clay Collard vs. Alexander Martinez, lightweight

Antonio Carlos Jr. vs. Bruce Souto, light heavyweight

Raush Manfio vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier, lightweight

Jeremy Stephens vs. Myles Price, lightweight

Omari Akhmedov vs. Teodoras Aukstuolis, light heavyweight

Natan Schulte vs. Marcin Held, lightweight

Emiliano Sordi vs. Delan Monte, light heavyweight

Robert Wilkinson vs. Viktor Pesta, light heavyweight

Marthin Hamlet vs. Josh Silveira, light heavyweight