Photo | Anthony Pettis studies film for potential Anderson Silva fight at UFC 254

UFC welterweight Anthony Pettis posted a photo of him and coach Duke Roufus studying film for a potential Anderson Silva fight at UFC 254.

Pettis called Silva out for a superfight between former UFC champions back in June, and Silva expressed interest in the bout as well, but so far nothing has come from it. UFC president Dana White was asked about a potential fight between the two stars and said that he has no interest in booking that fight.

“I saw that, that they were going back and forth. Him and Pettis? Yeah no,” White said at the time. “Guys talk sh*t every day on Twitter and social media.”

On Friday, Pettis doubled down on his callout of Silva. In a photo posted to his social media, Pettis and his coach Roufus are watching tape on Silva’s fight against Israel Adesanya. In the caption on his Instagram post, Pettis told the UFC to “give him the GOAT” and suggested UFC 254: Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje as a potential landing spot.

 

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Studying for @ufc 254 with @coachdukeroufus @danawhite #ufc254 #givemethe🐐 #teampettis

A post shared by Anthony Pettis (@showtimepettis) on Jul 30, 2020 at 10:16pm PDT

Pettis (23-10) is coming off of a decision win over Donald Cerrone at UFC 249 to snap a two-fight losing skid to Carlos Diego Ferreira and Nate Diaz. Pettis is now five years removed from being the UFC lightweight champion, but he continues to show up from time to time. In March 2019, Pettis picked up a huge upset win when he knocked out Stephen Thompson. He also holds a recent submission win over Michael Chiesa.

Pettis has previously competed at featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight in the UFC. So if the UFC matchmakers grant him his wish, Pettis’ fight against Silva at middleweight would make him one of the few fighters in UFC history to fight in four separate weight classes.

Silva (34-10, 1 NC) is coming off of back-to-back losses to Jared Cannonier and Israel Adesanya. His last win came in February 2017 when he defeated Derek Brunson via decision at UFC 207. However, overall Silva has struggled badly over the past seven years since dropping the UFC middleweight belt to Chris Weidman in 2013. Since then, Silva holds a 1-6, 1 NC record and he has been finished by strikes three times in that span. However, even at age 45, he is still a highly-respected fighter.

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