PFL 1 full results: Lightweights kick off winner-take-all $1m season as Clay Collard beats ex-UFC star Jeremy Stephens

JEREMY STEPHENS and Clay Collard saved the best till last as they headlined the Professional Fighters League’s 2022 seasonal opener.

The PFL is MMA’s only league format, spanning over a regular season and play-offs.

Fighters in eight different weight classes enter the two-fight regular season where points are earned for your methods of victories.

The top four proceed to the play-offs, a two-round quarter-final and three-round semis on the same night and the winner advances to the championship finale.

Up for grabs is the life-changing $1million cash prize and the lightweights and light-heavyweight kicked off the 2022 season in Dallas, were SunSport sat cageside.

Robert Wilkinson started things off with a win over Bruce Souto in round two, which earned him five points.

Omari Akhmedov went one better after brutally knocking out Viktor Pesta in round one to claim six.

Marthin Hamlet then earned three with a decision victory over Teodoras Aukstuolis, the same result as lightweight Alexander Martinez, who beat Scotland’s Stevie Ray.

Emiliano Sordi, the 2019 champ, was then stunned in round two by Cory Hendricks, who emerged with five points.

Kicking off the main card, Oliver Aubin-Mercier edged out Natan Schulte by razor thing split-decision to earn three points.

Reining light-heavyweight champion Antonio Carlos Jr then made lightwork of Delan Monte with a 28 second submission, giving him the max six points.

In the co-main event, lightweight champ Raush Manfio brutally knocked out Don Madge in round three to secure four points.

But the night’s headline act lived up to the billing and ex-UFC star Stephens and professional boxer Collard put on a thriller.

And after three rounds of nonstop pace, it was Collard who emerged victorious and three points to the good.