Anthony Pettis News

Tom Taylor - March 26, 2018

From a competitive standpoint, CM Punk’s MMA debut was a downright disaster. Though nobody has ever questioned the former pro wrestler’s cojones, he looked every bit a novice when he stepped into the cage with Mickey Gall at UFC 203 in September of 2016, and ultimately submitted to a first-round choke. While a blowout loss of this scale might have deterred a lesser competitor, however, Punk didn’t let it shake him from his goals. The former pro wrestler returned to the gym almost immediately after his loss to Gall, where he’s been working tirelessly ever since.

Drake Riggs - March 19, 2018

It’s been a rough past couple of years for the former UFC lightweight champion and last WEC lightweight champion, Anthony “Showtime” Pettis. Since starting his UFC career off 5-1 and winning the title, Pettis has gone a disappointing 2-5 which also included a very brief stint at featherweight.

Drake Riggs - March 8, 2018

Season 15 of The Ultimate Fighter was the first and only season that has been done live. The season gave us some of today’s best 155-pound fighters as eight are still in the UFC to this day. Most notably, the winner, Michael “Maverick” Chiesa. Chiesa defeated Al Iaquinta in the finals to earn the crown of TUF champion but along the way, he defeated one of the UFC’s current hottest rising contenders, James Vick.

Justin Golightly - March 8, 2018

Michael Chiesa was riding a nice little three-fight win streak until he ran into Kevin Lee, but now he’s back on the journey to restore his standing in the division and get back in that win column. He’ll be fighting former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis at the stacked UFC 223 card. Not only is he eager to get back in the cage, but he’s also relieved that Conor McGregor will be stripped to leave room for other fighters like himself to eventually get a title shot. “The biggest thing we need, is we need movement. The 155-pound division has been log-jammed so many times. When Anthony was champion he had some injuries that held him out for a while, you know, so the division got jammed up. And then we had some movement, and then Conor [McGregor] won the title and we’re jammed up again, and you know, you just gotta keep the wheels in motion. It’s just good to see. Conor’s a two-time champion, but he can’t just sit and hold the belt and keep us all waiting. You know, there’s a lot of tough guys jockeying for their position to be number one, and you only have so much time in this sport, so you can’t let one guy rob a bunch of us of our opportunities to fight for the belt.”

Drake Riggs - January 30, 2018

UFC 223 continues to grow! Already off to a hot start with two title fights and three Lightweight fights in total…it looks like another might be getting added! ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reports that a showdown between season 15 winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Michael Chiesa and former WEC and UFC Lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis could be in the cards for the night of action in Brooklyn, New York. Per sources, UFC is targeting a lightweight bout between Anthony Pettis and Michael Chiesa for UFC 223 on April 7 in Brooklyn.

Drake Riggs - January 9, 2018

The last time we saw former WEC and UFC Lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis in action he was covered in blood and looking for submissions off his back against Dustin Poirier at UFC Fight Night 120 on November 11. Pettis lost that fight via TKO from a rib injury he sustained when Poirier transitioned off his back into mount on Pettis. This loss made the former champ 2-5 in his last seven outings, which also meant he has yet to put together a winning streak since he was the UFC champion back in 2014. Pettis appears to be healing up though and has a date targeted according to Ariel Helwani who confirms that Pettis wants to fight on the UFC’s next London card which is on March 17. No potential opponents were named by Helwani… But Nolan King reports that there has been at least some discussion that the UFC is looking at the rising star, Mairbek Taisumov for Pettis’ next opponent.

Justin Golightly - November 15, 2017

Dustin Poirier and Anthony Pettis finally got to scrap at UFC Norfolk and it did not disappoint. Not only did Poirier beat a former champion, but it was a dominant performance not for the faint of heart. There was blood spewing all over the place from a huge cut that opened up on Pettis. By the end of the fight, both men were turned red and the canvas looked like a Jackson Pollock. There was so much blood that Poirier is still hasn’t got it all off of his body. “From this last one [with Pettis] my hair was matted with blood. Yeah, I took a shower. The crazy thing was the shower tile was white on the ground, so as soon as I got in there I could see how much blood was really pouring off of me. I mean my back, my shins, everything was covered. I’m still cleaning blood out of my ears right now, you know. Like, today. For sure, man. With an ear like this? They got some crevices in there that probably still have a few drops.”

Tom Taylor - November 12, 2017

On Saturday night, in the main event of the UFC’s action packed stop in Norfolk, Virginia, lightweight stars Anthony Pettis and Dustin Poirier stepped into the cage together in a fight that was long expected to deliver fireworks. When the cage door locked, the fight delivered. For two and a half rounds, Pettis and Poirier thrilled onlookers, swapping heavy artillery and submission attempts and painting the canvas red with blood. In the end, however, Poirier earned himself a TKO win, slapping a tight body triangle onto his foe, whose midsection seemed to be injured.

Chris Taylor - November 11, 2017

A key lightweight scrap between Dustin Poirier and former division champion Anthony Pettis headlined tonight’s UFC Fight Night card in Norfolk, Virginia. Round one begins and Pettis starts things off with a side kick followed by a low kick. Poirier is pressing forward but Anthony catches him with another low kick. Dustin misses with an uppercut. Pettis leaps in with a flying knee followed by a left hand. Dustin shoots in and scores with a double leg takedown. Pettis is up against the fence which he might use to wall-walk here. Pettis is looking to lock up a guillotine choke. He switches to a kimura attempt. Poirier breaks free of the submission attempt and lands some shots to the body. Pettis scores a sweep and winds up on top. He opts to stand up and Poirier catches him with an elbow. Pettis lands a nice counter right hand over the top. He finds a home for it again. Poirier once again shoots in for a takedown but this time Pettis is able to defend. Anthony misses with a low kick and Poirier counters nicely with a left hand. That appeared to stun Pettis. Poirier comes forward with a combination. He is all over Pettis here. Anthony lands a spinning back fist. Poirier with another flurry. Round one comes to an end.

Justin Golightly - November 8, 2017

Even though Dustin Poirier is about to fight Anthony Pettis this weekend, he still wants to know ‘where the f-ck’ Eddie Alvarez is. We all know the story by now, but these scrappers were on their way to Fight of the Night back at UFC 211 and Poirier felt he was on his way to a victory. We were potentially robbed of both by some illegal shots by Eddie Alvarez which made the bout a no contest. The two still have unfinished business, but Poirier driven toward something even bigger: UFC lightweight gold. “You know, in that fight, everybody who watched it saw I whipped Eddie Alvarez, made him look like an amateur. I mean the guy was two steps behind, couldn’t keep up. And then he kneed me in the back of the head with a shot that was illegal. And in the heat of the moment, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I thought it could’ve been an accident. I thought he might’ve been hurt, you know, and he was in fight mode, survival mode, he was just fighting and he kneed me. I told the crowd in Dallas to stop booing him, stood up for the guy, then he came out on social media talking sh-t, saying I wanted out of the fight.”

Justin Golightly - November 7, 2017

We’re finally catching our breath from the insanity of UFC 217, but UFC Norfolk is going to get the heart pumping at maximum levels this Saturday. It’s a sleeper card with a ton of good fights, all topped off with Dustin Poirier fighting Anthony Pettis in the main event. It’s a former champion going to battle with a challenger who inching closer to his shot. Poirier is pumped for the match-up, but would have preferred to finish what he and Eddie Alvarez started. “My first original thought [when I heard I’d be fighting Anthony Pettis] was, ‘Where the f-ck is Eddie Alvarez?’. That’s what my first thought was, but then I said alright, this is a fun, exciting fight. This guy is another former world champion. What can I really be upset about? It’s a main event fight – we’re all eyes on us – against another world champion, and I’ll just show again what kind of caliber fighter I am. Right now [the door is closed for fighting Eddie Alvarez] because I’ve been training 12 weeks for Anthony Pettis, so that’s all I’m focused on right now.”

Tom Taylor - August 15, 2017

During the broadcast of the UFC’s recent trip to Mexico City, former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis called for a fight with fellow lightweight contender Dustin Poirier. Shortly thereafter, Poirier confirmed his interest in this fight on Twitter. Poirier later reaffirmed his interest in this fight in an interview with BJPenn.com’s own Chris Taylor. “You know I was hoping for a top-five opponent,” he told Taylor. “But if I can’t get that, then Anthony Pettis is a former champion in both WEC and UFC. The guy is a big name in the sport, so that would be a good fight as well.”

Russell Ess - July 12, 2017

UFC 213 crowned a new UFC interim middleweight champion as Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker battled in a five-round interim title fight. It was a classic matchup with the two competing in a grueling fight that went the distance where judges ruled Whittaker the new interim champion of the middleweight division. With a middleweight title unification bout against undisputed champion Michael Bisping on the horizon, we may not see the fight take place until next year as Whittaker’s injured knee needs to be cleared by an orthopedic doctor or else face a medical suspension till January 2018.

Chris Taylor - July 8, 2017

UFC 213 Results: Jim Miller vs. Anthony Pettis A lightweight scrap between former division title holder Anthony Pettis and veteran contender Jim Miller took place on tonight’s UFC 213 main card in Las Vegas.

bjpenndotcom - July 8, 2017

Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will be making his highly anticipated return to the lightweight division tonight at UFC 213 when he faces UFC veteran Jim Miller in a pivotal fight for the former champ. Ahead of the fight, Anthony Pettis spoke to MMAFighting to explain what he did different for this training camp to return to the win column after going just 1-4 in his past 5 fights.

bjpenndotcom - July 6, 2017

This Saturday at UFC 213, former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will make his highly anticipated return to the Octagon when he takes on fellow UFC veteran Jim Miller. Ahead of the fight, Anthony Pettis knows he’s likely in a must-win situation after going just 1-4 over the course of his last 5 fights, with his most recent loss being a 3rd round TKO to Max Holloway at UFC 206. He spoke to MMAJunkie to explain what he did differently this camp, in order to prepare himself for the fight:

Chris Taylor - May 3, 2017

Jim Miller vs. Anthony Pettis set for UFC 213 A lightweight scrap between former division title holder Anthony Pettis and perennial contender Jim Miller has been added to July’s UFC 213 pay-per-view event in Las Vegas.

Tom Taylor - May 3, 2017

Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis had a bit of a tough run as a featherweight. Though he defeated Charles Oliveira in his first fight in the division, he would be TKO’d by Max Holloway in his second – which really wasn’t even technically a featherweight bout, as he missed the division’s 145-pound limit. After his tough loss to Holloway, Pettis confirmed that he’d had enough of the rather difficult cut to featherweight, and that he planned to return to the lightweight division where he once wore gold.