Lance Palmer

Lance Palmer (born February 7, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division. A professional since 2011, he is most notable for competing in Professional Fighters League (PFL), where he was the 2018 and 2019 tournament champion.

He currently wrestles for Real American Freestyle (RAF), where he also serves as their head of talent development. As a collegiate wrestler, Palmer was a four-time NCAA Division I All-American and four-time OHSAA state champion. He is a member of the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Wrestling career High school Palmer started wrestling at the age of nine and won every OHSAA (state) tournament since his freshman year of high school, making him a four-time Ohio champion out of St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio. He graduated with a record of 150-6 and also won a NHSCA Senior National championship while coached by Greg Urbas.

College After graduating, he attended Division I Ohio State University, where he competed at 149 pounds in all of his 4 seasons.

2006-07 True Freshman: Earned All-American status after placing fourth at the NCAA tournament, becoming the second Buckeye to do so in their first year of competition. He also placed third at the Big Ten Championships, and defeated 3 ranked opponents at the tournament.

2007-08 Sophomore: Became a two-time All-American placing eight at the NCAA championship. At the Big Ten's, he placed sixth and was the fifth seed.

Over his career, Palmer compiled a 121–33 record and became a four-time NCAA Division I All-American, one-time NCAA finalist and one-time Big Ten Champion. He defeated notable opponents such as future Olympic Gold Medalist and 2x NCAA Champion Jordan Burroughs, NCAA Champion and future Olympian Frank Molinaro, future NCAA Champion and MMA Fighter Bubba Jenkins, former NCAA Champion (later two-time) Brent Metcalf and University Freestyle National Champion Jason Chamberlain

On June 16, 2020, Palmer was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame for his legendary collegiate wrestling career.

Real American Freestyle

Palmer began competing for Real American Freestyle (RAF) in 2025, where he is also their head of talent development.

He competed at RAF 01 on August 30, 2025, losing to Austin Gomez.

Palmer then competed at RAF 05 on January 11, 2026, losing to Arman Tsarukyan by 10-0 Technical Fall.

He defeated Cayden Henschel by 3-2 decision at RAF 08 on April 18, 2026.

Palmer faced Aaron Pico at RAF 10 on June 13, 2026. He lost by 12-1 Technical Fall.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career Palmer made his professional mixed martial arts debut on May 20, 2011. He began his career at 7-0 and won the Resurrection Fighting Alliance Featherweight Championship a little over two years after his debut.

World Series of Fighting On December 7, 2013, Palmer made his World Series of Fighting debut at WSOF 7 against Bellator veteran Georgi Karakhanyan for the inaugural WSOF Featherweight Championship. He lost via guillotine choke in the third round.

On June 21, 2014, Palmer faced Nick LoBasco at WSOF 10. He won via rear naked choke submission in the first round.

On December 13, 2014, Palmer challenged Rick Glenn for the WSOF Featherweight Championship at WSOF 16. He won via rear naked choke submission in the third round to become the WSOF Featherweight Champion.

On June 5, 2015, Palmer made his first defense of the WSOF Featherweight Championship at WSOF 21 against IFL and WEC veteran Chris Horodecki. He won via neck crank submission in the first round to retain the WSOF Featherweight Championship.

On December 18, 2015, Palmer made the second defense of the WSOF Featherweight Championship at WSOF 26 against Alexandre Almeida. He lost via unanimous decision.

On May 10, 2016, it was announced that Palmer will have a rematch against Alexandre Almeida for the WSOF Featherweight Championship at WSOF 32 on July 30, 2016 in the co-main event. He won via unanimous decision to become a two time WSOF Featherweight Champion.

On June 30, 2016, Palmer fought Andre Harrison in for the first title defense of his second reign as champion at WSOF 35 in the co-main event. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Professional Fighters League

After World Series of Fighting became the Professional Fighters League, Palmer next fought on November 2, 2017. He fought Steven Siler at Professional Fighters League: Fight Night where Palmer won the fight via unanimous decision.

Palmer then competed in the inaugural season of the Professional Fighters League. He fought on at the first event of the new format at PFL 1 in the Featherweight division. On June 7, 2018, he faced Bekbulat Magomedov and won the fight by second round submission. On July 19, 2018, Palmer fought Jumabieke Tuerxun at PFL 4. He won the fight by third round submission.

In the fall of 2018, Palmer entered the PFL Featherweight tournament as the second seed. At PFL 8 on October 5, 2018, he defeated Max Coga by unanimous decision in the quarterfinal round and then rematched Andre Harrison and earned unanimous decision win in the semifinal round.

Palmer fought another rematch against Steven Siler in the finals at PFL 11 on December 31, 2018. He won the fight via unanimous decision, winning the PFL Featherweight tournament and earning the $1 million cash prize.

2019 Season In the opening round of the second season of PFL, Palmer faced Alex Gilpin at PFL 2 on May 23, 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision, collecting three regular season points.

In the second round Palmer faced Luis Rafael Laurentino at PFL 5 on July 25, 2019. He won the fight via third-round TKO and advanced to the playoffs.

Palmer next faced Alexandre de Almeida and Alex Gilpin at PFL 8 on October 17, 2019. He won both fights by unanimous decision. He was expected to face Daniel Pineda in the Featherweight tournament finals, but after Pineda failed a drug test after PFL 8, Palmer was set to face Alex Gilpin in the finals again.

Palmer and Gilpin faced each other for the third time during the season at PFL 10 on December 31, 2019. Palmer implemented his grappling-heavy fight style, winning the bout via unanimous decision and claiming his second PFL Featherweight tournament victory.

2021 Season Palmer was scheduled to face Jason Soares in the opening round of the third season on May 21, 2020. However, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Palmer faced 2011 NCAA Division I champion Bubba Jenkins on April 23, 2021 at PFL 1. He lost for the first time during his PFL run via unanimous decision.

Palmer was scheduled to face Lazar Stojadinovic at PFL 4 on June 10, 2021. However, on May 24, it was announced that Stojadinovic had to pull out of the bout and was replaced by Jesse Stirn. A day before the event, Palmer was pulled and rescheduled to face Movlid Khaybulaev on June 25, 2021 at PFL 6. He lost the bout via unanimous decision, eliminating Palmer from the playoffs for the first time in his PFL career.

2022 Season Palmer faced Chris Wade on April 28, 2022 at PFL 2. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Palmer faced Sheymon Moraes on June 24, 2022 at PFL 5. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Absolute Championship Akhmat Palmer was scheduled to take part in the 2023 ACA Featherweight Grand Prix, facing Bibert Tumenov in the quarter-finals on August 11, 2023 at ACA 161. However, Palmer withdrew from the fight due to injury and the bout was postponed for the following event on September 2, 2023 at ACA 162. At weigh-ins, Palmer (148 lbs / 67.1 kg) missed weight and was fined a 30% of his purse with went to his opponent. He subsequently lost the bout via knockout at the end of the first round.

Moving up to Lightweight, Palmer faced Alexey Polpudnikov on May 17, 2024 at ACA 175: Gordeev vs. Damkovskiy, losing by TKO stoppage in the second round.

Global Fight League On December 11, 2024, it was announced that Palmer was signed by Global Fight League. However, in April 2025, it was reported that all GFL events were cancelled indefinitely.

Submission grappling career Palmer competed against Richie Lewis in the main event of Pit Submission Series 11 on January 24, 2025. Palmer lost the match by unanimous decision.

Personal life Palmer was an assistant wrestling coach at the Virginia Tech program.

Palmer’s high school career was documented in the movie "Pinned."

Championships and accomplishments Mixed Martial Arts Professional Fighters League 2018 PFL Featherweight Championship 2019 PFL Featherweight Championship Resurrection Fighting Alliance RFA Featherweight Championship (One time) World Series of Fighting WSOF Featherweight Championship (Two times) One Successful Title Defense

Folkstyle Wrestling Collegiate National Collegiate Athletic Association Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee (2020) NCAA Division I All-American out of Ohio State University (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) NCAA Division I 149 lbs - 4th place out of Ohio State University (2007) NCAA Division I 149 lbs - 8th place out of Ohio State University (2008) NCAA Division I 149 lbs - 4th place out of Ohio State University (2009) NCAA Division I 149 lbs - 2nd place out of Ohio State University (2010) Big Ten Conference B1G 149 lbs - 3rd place out of Ohio State University (2007) B1G 149 lbs - 6th place out of Ohio State University (2008) B1G 149 lbs - 3rd place out of Ohio State University (2009) B1G 149 lbs - 1st place out of Ohio State University (2010)

High school Ohio High School Athletic Association OHSAA 103 lb Division I State Champion out of St. Edward High School (2003) OHSAA 112 lb Division I State Champion out of St. Edward High School (2004) OHSAA 125 lb Division I State Champion out of St. Edward High School (2005) OHSAA 140 lb Division I State Champion out of St. Edward High School (2006)

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Alexey Polpudnikov TKO (punches) ACA 175

Moscow, Russia Loss

Bibert Tumenov KO (punches) ACA 162

Krasnodar, Russia Win

Sheymon Moraes Decision (unanimous) PFL 5 (2022)

Atlanta, Georgia, United States Loss

Chris Wade Decision (unanimous) PFL 2 (2022)

Arlington, Texas, United States Loss

Movlid Khaybulaev Decision (unanimous) PFL 6 (2021)

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Loss

Bubba Jenkins Decision (unanimous) PFL 1 (2021)

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Alex Gilpin Decision (unanimous) PFL 10 (2019)

New York City, New York, United States Win

Alex Gilpin Decision (unanimous)

Win

Alexandre Almeida Decision (unanimous)

Win

Luis Rafael Laurentino TKO (punches) PFL 5 (2019)

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Alex Gilpin Decision (unanimous) PFL 2 (2019)

Uniondale, New York, United States Win

Steven Siler Decision (unanimous) PFL 11 (2018)

New York City, New York, United States Win

Andre Harrison Decision (unanimous)

Win

Max Coga Decision (unanimous)

Win

Jumabieke Tuerxun Submission (rear-naked choke) PFL 4 (2018)

Uniondale, New York, United States Win

Bekbulat Magomedov Submission (rear-naked choke) PFL 1 (2018)

New York City, New York, United States Win

Steven Siler Decision (unanimous) PFL Fight Night

Washington, D.C., United States Loss

Andre Harrison Decision (unanimous) WSOF 35

Verona, New York, United States Win

Alexandre Almeida Decision (majority) WSOF 32

Everett, Washington, United States Loss

Alexandre Almeida Decision (unanimous) WSOF 26

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Chris Horodecki Submission (neck crank) WSOF 21

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Win

Rick Glenn Submission (rear naked choke) WSOF 16

Sacramento, California, United States Win

Nick LoBosco Submission (rear naked choke) WSOF 10

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Georgi Karakhanyan Submission (guillotine choke) WSOF 7

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Win

Jared Downing Decision (split) RFA 8

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States Win

Patrick Reeves Submission (guillotine choke) Showdown Fights 11

Orem, Utah, United States Win

Fredson Paixao Decision (split) RFA 4

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Joe Washington Decision (unanimous) Ultimate Victory Challenge 20

Columbus, Ohio, United States Win

Jordan Chandler Submission (arm triangle choke) Showdown Fights 6

Orem, Utah, United States Win

Chris David Decision (unanimous) Fight For Wrestling 4

San Luis Obispo, California, United States Win

Emilio Gonzales Submission (rear naked choke) Fight For Wrestling 3

Bakersfield, California, United States NCAA record

Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event

Loss 15-7

Win 15-6

Win 14-6

Win 13-6

Win 12-6

Win 11-6

Loss 10-5

Win 10-4

Win 9-4

Win 8-4

Loss 7-4

Loss 7-3

Win 7-2

Loss 6-2

Win 6-1

Win 5-1

Win 4-1

Loss 3-1

Win 3-0

Win 2-0

Win 1-0