Lance Palmer’s truly inspiring road to glory
Lance Palmer was recently crowned PFL champion in featherweight division. There is no doubt that this victory is the single biggest achievement of Palmer’s fighting career. It just goes to show that despite all the razzmatazz in the fighting industry, winning a few matches does not make one rich instantly.
The inaugural edition of Professional Fighters League came to conclusion on the final day of 2018. As many as six finals were contested and all the winners received prize money of $1 million each.
Many MMA fans who normally watch these bouts online had to miss the thrilling fight due to inaccessibility to the online platforms.
Reflecting on Lance Palmer’s career
Lance Palmer started his fighting career in 2011 and has competed in 20 fights including the PFL final. His current record stands at seventeen wins to merely three defeats. He is thirty years of age now and has had a pretty good career so you might think he must be earning massive payday by now, his record certainly should be earning him that.
But having won titles like the RFA and the WSOF along the way Palmer didn’t quite make it large on the financial side. The US $ 1mn check he won in the PFA final is the first big prize of his career. This just goes on to show that MMA fighters’ way to the top is not always lucrative.
Palmer’s practical approach to fighting
There is no doubt in saying that fighters have a lot more to fight for than money in MMA. They are challenging themselves, the fight is not against the opponent, the aim is not to defeat the rival but to conquer one’s demons.
But Palmer has always had a very practical approach towards fighting. In a recent interview he stated that for him it was all about the end, which for everybody is the financial incentive. He chose not to compete in the Olympics because it did not guarantee him success, both as a fighter and financially. He has already started taking baby steps towards coaching having worked with Faber previously.
There is no arguing the fact that every sport is being commercialized today. As reported by Forbes, there are 450 million fans of the MMA worldwide and hence more emphasis is put on how to generate more and more revenue out of the sport. So we can’t really find fault in Palmer’s approach to fighting.
How the match went
The PFA final was a rematch for the fight between Palmer and Siler that took place thirteen months ago in the US capital. Palmer won that night, but the manner in which Siler refused to give up and kept coming at him impressed palmer. Siler earned his respect with his never say die attitude.
The rematch was equally exciting as well. Palmer managed an impressive seven takedowns and dealt Siler some serious blows with his left hand, just like in the last match. Overall the wrestling part stood out in this match and Palmer’s experience as a wrestler in his earlier years gave him an upper hand and was instrumental in his victory.
