Once upon a time, Anthony Pettis had his face on a Wheaties box, was 18-2, had successfully won and defended the UFC lightweight championship, and won performance bonuses in each of his last four fights. Pettis, now largely fighting at welterweight, beat unranked Alex Morono on the undercard of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 42; it was his first consecutive win since 2014.
Now 33, Pettis fought out his contract, and at the post-fight press conference, was asked what’s next.
I don’t know, said Pettis. I think that was the risk of taking this fight and not re-signing UFC contract. Usually, I re-sign my UFC contract [with] three fights to go or two fights to go. This time, I’m like, ‘I’m 33 years old. I’ve been in this. This is my 11th-and-a-half year with this company, man. I’ve been with this company for a long time.’
I love this place. I grew up under these lights. They made me who I am, but at this point, I’m just going to take my time, go to Christmas, have my New Year’s and then see what happens at the beginning of 2020 – and see what happens in 2021.
Despite the UFC cutting approximately 60 fighters by the end of the year, Pettis said he never felt like his job was in jeopardy.
Nah, not really, said Pettis. If I were to have let that get to my head, then I would’ve fought a different fight out there. … I don’t think my job was at stake. I’ve earned the right to be fighting where I’m at. I can fight with the best of them. I beat the guy in the main event of this card, ‘Wonderboy.’ He’s a great fighter.
So I just feel like it’s me finding my groove outside the Octagon is what’s going to get me these fights and let me keep going. My goal right now is to get a win streak going. This is my first win streak in a long time.
UG, does Pettis stay or does he go. If he goes, where to? If he stays, who will the UFC match him up with next
Champ: Kamaru Usman
1. Colby Covington
2. Gilbert Burns
3. Leon Edwards
4. Jorge Masvidal
5. Stephen Thompson
6. Tyron Woodley
7. Demian Maia
8. Michael Chiesa
9. Neil Magny
10. Vicente Luque
11. Geoff Neal
12. Anthony Pettis
13. Belal Muhammad
14. Robbie Lawler
15. Khamzat Chimaev
Will they try to elevate Chimaev? Taekwondo vs. BJJ with the soon to retire Maia? Taekwondo vs. karate with Thompson, who asked for a higher-ranked opponent? Strikers delight fight vs. Lawler? What do you want to see?
Further complicating the picture, Pettis said post-fight that he wants to return to lightweight. Pettis has fought multiple times at featherweight, in 2016 challenging Jose Aldo for the belt.
Guys at 170 are big dudes,” said Pettis, accurately. “It’s a different beast than 155. The reason I wasn’t at 155 is pure laziness. It was me outside the Octagon getting fat and just not caring like I should care about my career. I was doing some of the extracurricular things like clubs, the partying scene, and all the food that comes with that. I’ve cleared that part of my life.
I’m keeping life outside the Octagon very straight. I know I can get down to 155 and be comfortable.
This is the current UFC lightweight top 15:
Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov
1. Justin Gaethje
2. Dustin Poirier
3. Charles Oliveira
4. Tony Ferguson
5. Conor McGregor
6. Dan Hooker
7. Rafael Dos Anjos
8 . Paul Felder
9. Diego Ferreira
10. Al Iaquinta
11. Kevin Lee
12. Beneil Dariush
13. Islam Makhachev
14. Gregor Gillespie
15. Drew Dober
Where might “Showtime” fit best at 155? The fighter offered a suggestion.
I think Tony makes sense. I think Tony Ferguson coming off his two losses — and he’s fighting tough dudes, said Pettis. That’s what I hate about this sport. Guys like, ‘Oh, Tony’s done.’ But he’s a dangerous dude. I think that’ll be a good fight for me to jump back into the lightweight mix. He’s still right up there.
h/t Nolan King and Ken Hathaway for MMA Junkie • Tristen Critchfield for Sherdog • Milan Ordoñez for BE
