Resurgent Anthony Pettis calls out Nate Diaz and Al Iaquinta

Earlier this month, on the main card of UFC 226, former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis picked up a sorely needed victory, submitting BJJ blackbelt Michael Chiesa in the second round. With this incredible win, Pettis reasserted himself as a top-10 UFC lightweight, and more importantly, assured that his UFC career is not in jeopardy.

Having revived his impressive career, Pettis is now looking to the future — and he seems to want a big fight.

Late on Sunday night, the former champion took to Twitter to call out two big name lightweights: Al Iaquinta and Nate Diaz.

Yo @ALIAQUINTA I’m down 2 Fight @ufc said you are out indefinitely @NateDiaz209 what’s up don’t be scared homie #teampettis #fuckthediazbrothers @danawhite

— Anthony Pettis (@Showtimepettis) July 16, 2018

“Yo @ALIAQUINTA I’m down 2 Fight @ufc said you are out indefinitely,” Pettis said in his Tweet. “@NateDiaz209 what’s up don’t be scared homie #teampettis #fuckthediazbrothers @danawhite.”

At the time of this writing, neither Iaquinta nor Diaz has responded to Pettis’ callout.

Al Iaquinta was recently scheduled to battle Justin Gaethje in the UFC Lincoln main event. Regrettably, he withdrew from this exciting scrap, citing nagging injuries that left him feeling like he wasn’t quite ready to return to the cage. Despite his past grievances with the UFC, he is reportedly on decent terms with the promotion at present.

Nate Diaz, meanwhile, has not fought since August of 2016, when he lost a decision to Conor McGregor. In his next most recent fight, he defeated Conor McGregor by second-round submission, handing the Irishman his first UFC loss. Given Diaz’s prolonged absence, there is widespread doubt that he’ll ever fight again.

With his defeat of Michael Chiesa, Pettis rebounded from a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier. The former champion is now 21-7 overall.

Who do you want to see Anthony Pettis fight in his next bout?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 7/16/2018.