Anthony Pettis learns hand is not actually broken, avoids surgery

Earlier this month, the UFC made its first trip to Toronto, Ontario, Canada since 2013. It did so with the much maligned, but ultimately action-packed UFC 206.

This thrilling card was headlined by an interim featherweight title fight between former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, and streaking featherweight contender Max Holloway. Though Pettis was not without his moments in this fight, he ultimately came up short, as he wilted under a swarm of Holloway strikes in the third round.

While nothing can be taken away from Holloway’s brilliant performance, part of the reason Pettis had such difficulty mounting any meaningful offence of his own was because he sustained an injury to his hand in the first round.

In the moments after the fight, Pettis expressed his belief that he’d broken his hand. His suspicion was later confirmed by doctors, who told him that he would probably have to go under the knife to correct this unfortunate injury.

According to a report from MMAFighting.com, however, Pettis’s hand is not actually broken. When the swelling began to subside, the former champ underwent an MRI, which revealed that his injury was not as severe as initially believed. With this bit of good news, Pettis has also learned that he will not need to undergo surgery. This, of course, means he’ll be able to return to the Octagon far sooner than expected.

That said, Pettis and his team have said they plan to take some time to regroup all the same. With his loss to Holloway, the former lightweight king fell to a tough 1-4 in his last five, having recently lost to Rafael Dos Anjos, Eddie Alvarez, Edson Barboza, and now Holloway.

When Pettis does return to action, it’ll be to the lightweight division, as he is not able to healthily make the featherweight division’s 145-pound cap.

Who do you want to see Pettis fight when he returns to action? Do you think he can work his way back to title contention? Sound off, PENN Nation!