“Cassius” Clay Collard fights in Vegas on Saturday

By PATSY STODDARD Editor

Emery County’s own, “Cassius” Clay Collard is on the road to Las Vegas for one of his biggest fights to date. He will fight on Sept. 5 at the MGM Grand. He has joined the UFC and will fight at 145 pounds.
Collard grew up in Emery County and played football at Emery High graduating in 2011. He was also a wrestler finishing third in the state tournament.
Collard said, “I guess it all started when I was little. As a kid I was into wrestling and boxing. When I grew up and entered high school my senior year, other kids were picking out colleges and moving on and I didn’t know where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do. I turned 18 and a week later there was a fight event in Price. One of my brothers wrestling coaches told me I should do Mixed Martial Arts, that I would do great. This would give me an opportunity to keep fighting, boxing and wrestling. So I jumped at the opportunity. My first fight over in Price lasted 12 seconds. I knocked the guy out and I was hooked.
“I asked my Dad if he could find me another fight. So he started looking and there was one the next week, the only thing was they didn’t have any amateurs in my weight class so I would have to fight professional if I took the fight. I said, let’s do it. So my second fight which was in Moab was a profight and I had a technical knockout TKO. The next weekend there was this fight in Vernal. I was supposed to have one opponent and then they switched to this other guy. My mom was freaking out, she said I couldn’t fight that guy he’d beat me up. They watched videos of him. When I got home, I looked up the guy and I told my Dad, ‘I can beat that guy.’
“So that weekend my brothers had a wrestling tournament and on the way home from that, my Dad turned towards Vernal. My mom wondered what was going on and my Dad said ‘your son has a fight in Vernal tonight.’ She freaked out. I TKO’d that guy in the second round. But, he kicked me in the leg and bashed up my leg, so I didn’t fight the next weekend.
“I decided I had a lot to learn, so I took a couple months off from fighting to do some training. My first loss came from someone trained in Jujitsu. I hadn’t had any training in kicking. He was a brown belt. So I started looking into that aspect of training. I learned how to kick, punch and how to fight.
“The next year I fought locally on the professional level. I traveled to gyms around Utah to fighting seminars and learned everything I could. I moved to Colorado to train with a man that trained fighters in his garage and upstairs at his house. I spent six months training with him.
“I was fighting at the biggest Utah venue for MMA and that was the Showdown Fights in Orem at Utah Valley University. I was getting to the point where I wanted to move up and fight better guys.
“I fought Justin Buckles, he trains in California, he had tried out for the UFC but didn’t get in so he was fighting back trying to get in. I fought Buckles and was destroying him the first two rounds, but then in the third round he head kicked me and kinda rocked me. He was able to get me in a choke hold and I had to tap out. I lost that fight. I’d been training at the Pit Elevated gym in Orem. The UFC got ahold of my coach there and said they wanted me to train with them. I went to Colorado and got all my stuff and moved back.
“I had a rematch with Justin Buckles and after five rounds, I won in a split decision that was for the Light Weight Championship and it was named fight of the year.
“My coach thought that I couldn’t make it at 158 pounds and wanted me to drop to the 145 pound class. I fought two fights at 145 and won both of them.
“I fought Max Hollaway and he beat me in the third round. But, just after that he took off and is ranked number five.
“I won my second fight in the UFC against Alex White. I fought in Mexico, but I lost that one. I felt like I had lost my focus. I feel better now. I have kind of regrouped myself. I moved in with my brother Cory in Provo and I am doing everything I can to get better.
“I train Monday through Saturday. Each day we focus on something different. It’s a combination of boxing, wrestling and jujitsu. Monday it’s wrestling and take down and stand-up drills and we practice kicking. Tuesday’s, I have two a day practices. I practice striking in the morning and Tuesday night it’s cardio. Wednesday it’s submission, choke holds, mitt work and combinations. Thursday’s it’s sparring day and we put on the gloves and spar each other just like in a real fight. Friday’s we go over our wrestling skills and jujitsu and using wrestling skills to set-up submissions.
“Jason Mirtlich is my coach. We’re really looking forward to the Vegas fight. I fly out on Tuesday and the fight is Saturday. There will be around 2,000 fans for the first fights, I am one of the first fighters, anywhere from 4-6 p.m. By the time of the Main Card fights, the stadium is full. It’s on pay-per-view UFC 191 on Sept. 5. UFC.TV.
“I’ve had to have part-time jobs along the way to fund my fighting. You’re not getting rich, only those in the top five-10 ranks do pretty good. But, I’ve been making enough to get by in between fights.
“To help me drop the weight, I’ve had a nutritionist that helps me eat right. I am trying to stay healthy. I eat lean chicken, avocado, healthy stuff and I eat every three hours during the day. No junk food. I will diet down as much as I can and then will have to sweat out the last eight to 10 pounds of water before a weigh in.
“After I make weight, I can rehydrate, get an IV and eat. Between fights, I eat healthy, but it’s impossible not to splurge once in awhile. I’m not super strict between fights, I’ll have a Mt. Dew and a hamburger sometimes.
“If for some reason, I don’t make weight, the opponent can accept or deny if he wants to fight me and I would be fined if I didn’t make weight. I haven’t had that happen. I usually start to cut weight, two months out before a fight. I think losing weight is 95 percent about diet and 5 percent about getting in shape. You need to eat breakfast, You need to eat enough that your body uses it and then three hours later eat again. If you wait long periods of time between eating, then your body goes into starvation mode and stores everything you eat. Look at Sumo wrestlers they eat a big breakfast and they only eat twice a day, then they eat a big evening meal right before bed. There’s been so many studies to figure out how your body works. There are really no special tricks. I feel very healthy. We do cardio and when I have time I love swimming. I run a few miles a couple times a week,” said Collard.
Collard likes everything about fighting. “It’s who I am, I grew up with all brothers and you know my parents, (Chris and Marilyn Collard) and they’re rowdy. It’s just in my blood to be a fighter. I fell in love with it at a young age. I like the fitness and the competition. I like the confidence it brings me. I really love it. I like learning how to perfect myself. I like the workouts and working on something every day. When you go into a fight, that’s the test, to see how well you’ve been preparing.
“My current record is 16 wins and 6 losses,” said Collard.
Collard has many dreams and aspirations for his fighting. He plans to be in the top 10 rankings in the next two-three years maybe sooner if he can. He would love to have a shot at a title fight someday in the future.
“I’ve had a lot of support from the local community in Carbon and Emery counties. Most people couldn’t come down to Mexico, but they’ve been to Vegas to support me and in Orem. My family tries to get there as well as friends and fans.
“Anything is possible. Dreams can come true as long as you work as hard as you can for them. No matter what, your family is the most important. Family is behind you, they have your back through the good times and the bad.
“I hate to lose. Sometimes you will get injured. I’ve had a broken right foot and broken left floating rib and a broken right middle finger. I wouldn’t say it’s a dangerous career, but a tough one. There can be a lot of pain and heart ache. It’s emotional, fighting is, only other fighters can really understand the emotions involved,” said Collard.
If you get a chance view Collard’s fight this coming Saturday in Vegas. Watch as this former Emery High wrestler and football player shows them how tough the talent is from Emery County.