Lance Palmer didn’t go the route he expected in his MMA career but he’s not exactly mired in regret.
The four-time All-American wrestler from Ohio State decided to pursue fighting after college with dreams
of eventually earning a spot on the UFC roster. While he was working alongside UFC stalwarts like Urijah Faber and Cody Garbrandt on a daily basis, Palmer ultimately took another path when he signed with World Series of Fighting and then eventually moved over to the PFL where he was a two-time tournament champion, which netted him $2 million in prize money.
Now at 38, Palmer realizes he doesn’t have much time left in the sport but he still wants to compete again, although he recognizes that a run in the UFC is very unlikely to materialize.
“I would love to have a couple more fights,” Palmer told MMA Fighting. “My goal when I first started was obviously to become UFC champ. My main goal was to get into the UFC and I ended up down a way different path because I signed with World Series of Fighting early in my career after I won the RFA featherweight title back in 2013. Then I just took a completely different path, which I’m grateful for and was awesome but the goal was always to be in the UFC.
“Obviously, the reality of them signing a 38-year-old guy is not very realistic. But my other goal is not to fight on any regional shows because it’s not like I’m fighting just to fight.”
Palmer dropped back-to-back fights in his two appearances since leaving the PFL but he planned on returning to action in 2025 after signing with the GFL.
The upstart promotion signed a huge list of veteran fighters and former champions but ultimately failed to get off the ground after scheduling two debut shows and then cancelling both a few weeks later after funding fell through. Numerous fighters have spoken out about promises made by GFL only to have the organization effectively fold before the first show ever took place.
Palmer was one of those casualties because he felt like GFL would give him the opportunity to go out fighting against top notch competition but instead he was left in the dust just like everybody else who signed there.
While MMA wasn’t affording him many opportunities, Palmer was excited when Real American Freestyle launched and that gave him a chance to return to his roots in wrestling instead.
“When that whole debacle happened with the GFL last year and I ended up not fighting for them,” Palmer explained. “They kind of just did the Fyre Festival on everybody. We had no clue what was going to happen so I was like this summer, I guess I’m just going to continue to grow my landscape company and enjoy time with my kids.
“End of June they called me about doing this [wrestling] match and it was fun. We get back to that full circle moment, it’s pretty cool because it brought me close with the Ohio State guys. I was back in the room a lot more. Wrestling with everybody from the 125-pounders all the way up to the 165-pounders. I felt like I was helping the team as they’re helping me.”
Palmer fell to Olympic wrestler Austin Gomez in his RAF debut but he hopes to right that wrong when he competes again on Saturday with a matchup scheduled against UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan.
While he’s excited to get back to wrestling on a more full-time basis, Palmer isn’t giving up hope about fighting again before calling it a career.
“It’s still in the back on my mind, some days in the front of my mind because I’m like I’m not done fighting yet,” Palmer said. “Physically, I feel great. Everything still feels there but it’s got to be the right options and that just hasn’t happened yet. I know that PFL got away from the tournament series and now they’re getting back to just regular fight cards and I had been talking to Eduardo [Lima], he started in PFL when started working for them. Maybe I’ll talk to him and get something going again with PFL but I don’t know. I don’t really know what’s going on with that.
“I’d like to be able to close the door on my own than have it closed on me. It’s a mental thing for me. I could move on today but I feel like I still have just enough in the tank to give a few more fights and then I can put it away and pack up and move onto the next thing.”
