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By Brett Okamoto, ESPN staff writer
SALT LAKE CITY — Clay Collard officially qualified for the PFL postseason for the third time in four years on Friday night, but it wasn't the way he envisioned.
Collado (25-13) lost a unanimous decision to Mads Burnell (18-6) in the main event of PFL 5 at the Huntsman Center. Despite the loss, Collado earned a spot in the lightweight playoffs in August thanks to a second-round, five-point win over Patrick Pitbull in April.
For Collado, whose main goal was to keep alive his hopes of making the playoffs and winning his first PFL championship, Friday's loss was surely bittersweet. Collado was a Utah native fighting in the state for the first time since 2019. Collado struggled to avoid Burnell's grappling throughout the three-round bout and was defeated 29-28 by all three judges.
Collado still managed to secure the No. 4 seed and will face former Bellator MMA champion Brent Primus (14-3) in the PFL semifinals. Primus secured the No. 1 seed with a submission win over Solomon Renfro. No. 2 seed Gadji Labadanov (22-4-2) will face No. 3 seed Michael Dufort (13-5), who slipped into a playoff despite losing to Adam Piccolotti on Friday.
In the light heavyweight division, 2023 champion Impa Kasanganay (17-4) earned the No. 1 seed after defeating PFL European champion Jacob Nedoh by TKO in the second round. Kasanganay sustained serious injuries during the bout but fought on and held Nedoh to a critical injury at the end of the round. The referee stopped the 205-pound bout after Nedoh was unable to recover in time for the start of the third round.
Kasanganay will face Josh Silveira (13-3) in a rematch of last year's championship bout. Kasanganay defeated Silveira by unanimous decision to win the 2023 title and $1 million prize. 2022 PFL champion Rob Wilkinson (18-2) will face Dovretzhan Yagsimuradov (23-7-1) in the semifinals. Both fighters won by decision.
