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From a 15-month layoff to a yearlong tournament, Jack May is going to have a serious change in pace after PFL’s regular season kicks off.

May (9-3), who meets fellow heavyweight Josh Copeland (16-4) in the Facebook-streamed preliminary card of PFL 1 on Thursday, knows that will involve making smarter choices when it comes to training. After all, considering he’s about to embark year-long tournament, injuries are bound to play a role in who stays and who goes.

Staying healthy, May knows, is pivotal to continuing from the two-fight regular season on to the playoffs, in hopes of making the hefty $1 million pay day reserved for its final winners.

But, once he’s inside that cage?

“I don’t want to hold back during my fights to try and play things safe so I don’t injure myself,” May told MMAjunkie Radio ahead of the event, which takes place at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. “I’m not that type of fighter. I go out there and put it all on the line. I try and finish guys.”

It’s a thin balance – especially considering a division in which, May reasonably points out, “guys are going to get knocked out” and hurt. But, after sitting down with his team to think and talk about the process, the heavyweight is informed and ready to get it started.

In fact, more than ready, May is excited. Fighting for the first time since Jan. 2017, when he beat Dave Cryer at Bellator to earn a second win in a row, the heavyweight is “chomping at the bit” to get back in there. He’s also ready to just be over with the habitual aches and pains of fight camp – which he did for the first time at Team Oyama.

“I’ve never trained like I have for this camp,” May said. “My agent, Jason House, set me up with Coach (Colin) Oyama. Like I told him, I thought I was doing enough and doing it right this whole time and he’s opened my eyes to what I should have been doing.”

The idea of becoming a millionaire at the end of it all, of course, doesn’t hurt when it comes to motivation. But May, who’s also a UFC, Titan FC and BAMMA veteran, is particularly excited by the fact that getting there is in his own hands.

“I like the format: Like any other professional sport, be it NBA or NFL, they have this format,” May said. “You have regular season, you get your seeds going into the playoffs, and then you win and you advance. You lose, you’re out.

“This is not a team sport. I do have a team behind me, I do have a coach behind me. They do help me prepare and stuff. But it’s me who gets in that cage and has to put it all together on fight night. I relish in that. I like that. I played team sports, I hated depending on the guy to the left and right of you. This is just – it comes down to you.”

For more on PFL 1, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Dan Tom. For more information or to download past episodes, go towww.mmajunkie.com/radio.