When he initially returned, the former RFA middleweight champion envisioned a return to light heavyweight, viewing the Aspinall battle as a one-off stop in the big boy ranks that would allow him to get back into the cage and shake off the rust before shedding some weight and pushing forward in the 205-pound ranks.
But he felt good in the gym and when he went live with Villante and Felipe, it prompted him to stay at heavyweight and work on dialing things in to give himself the best chance to enjoy consistent success inside the Octagon.
“I honestly thought I would go back down to 205, but I’m naturally a pretty big guy,” said Collier, who first turned to mixed martial arts as a means of losing weight as a 19- or 20-year-old kid tipping the scales at close to three bills. “Now I feel comfortable. I feel strong. I feel healthier, I feel like I can take a bigger punch; everything is a lot better, and I’m fast at heavyweight.
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“There are a lot of advantages for fighting smaller, so I’m used to going with guys that are ridiculously fast on the ground and sparring, but then I go with heavyweights and they hit hard, but they’re not as fast.”
Back in January, Collier turned in his best effort since returning, collecting a first-round submission win over Chase Sherman that earned him a Performance of the Night bonus.
Even better, he predicted the finish to his coach before they made the walk to the cage.
“Going into that fight, I was very confident,” said Collier, who moved to 13-5 with the first-round finish. “Chase is a big, strong guy, good striker and stuff, but I felt like I was better everywhere than him. I knew he throws kicks and I told my coach, ‘If he throws some lazy-ass body kick, I’m taking him down, and I’m going to smash him on the ground.’ And that’s what happened.
“I don’t show my ground game very much because I like to stand and put on a show, but my ground game is pretty good,” he added. “It felt good. It was a very dominant win.”
This weekend, Collier looks to keep the momentum rolling when he steps into the cage with the venerable veteran Arlovski.
