What Next For Anthony Pettis

What Next For Anthony Pettis 

By Jack Maher 

Anthony Pettis just won’t go away will he? Every time fans write him off, he puts in a vintage performance, fitting of his ‘Showtime’ moniker.

Pettis made his UFC welterweight debut in the main event of UFC on ESPN + 6 in Nashville Tennessee against Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, and his KO win was nothing short of spectacular. Pettis came into this fight on the back of a Fight Of The Year contender back and forth bout with Tony Ferguson at lightweight, a fight that Pettis lost. Another loss here would’ve put Pettis on a 2 fight losing streak and would’ve left Pettis 3-7 in his last 10.

Initially Pettis struggled to deal with the range of the larger Thompson, who came out more aggressive than usual, on the back of a controversial decision loss to Darren Till in Till’s home town last year. Thompson landed his excellent jab repeatedly, drawing blood from the face of Pettis, who was having success with low kicks, but perhaps looking overmatched by the established welterweight. W

ith less than 10 seconds left on the clock in the second round, Thompson caught Pettis with a side kick to the body, pushing him towards the cage, Pettis seemingly unfazed by this, immediately pounced forwards catching the kickboxing veteran with a brutal Superman punch that left Thompson unconscious, and will likely remain a part of Pettis’s already iconic highlight reel for the rest of his career.

The former UFC champion now joins Conor McGregor and Kenny Florian as the only fighters to win a UFC fight in 3 weight divisions. All 3 men have won at featherweight, lightweight and welterweight.

While a return to featherweight is almost certainly out of the question for Pettis, the Milwaukee Wisconsin native may choose to split his time between the 155 and 170 divisions. Pettis has long struggled against pressure fighters who can close the distance against him, take him down and keep him there, and given that the top half of the welterweight division is mostly occupied by dominant wrestlers, and Pettis’s trademark speed and creativity will clearly not abandon him at either weight class.

Pettis might as well take advantage of his unique situation and seek out exciting fights with fellow strikers that play into his strengths. Considering that Thompson was ranked #4 going into this fight, it’s is likely that Pettis will move into the top 5 of his new division. In his post fight interview Pettis named Rafael Dos Anjos as a potential opponent at welterweight. This would be a rematch of their 2015 fight at lightweight, a fight were RDA put in a dominant performance to take the lightweight crown.

Dos Anjos will take on another lightweight who is moving up to 170 pounds in Kevin Lee at a UFC event in Rochester, New York in May of this year. Pettis also named the winner of a lightweight fight between Justin Gaethje and Edson Barboza, a fight that will take place March 30th, as another option. The Barboza fight would be another rematch of another fight Pettis lost at lightweight, while the Gaethje fight would be an exciting new matchup fans would love to see.

Pettis, like every other big-name featherweight, lightweight or welterweight, was also linked to a fight with the aforementioned McGregor, but I think we’d all be surprised if that fight cane to fruition, given McGregor’s current suspension and past spells of inactivity.

If none of the previously mentioned fights materialise,, then it would make sense for Pettis to build on his performance at UFC Nashville and seek matchups with fellow exciting strikers at welterweight, with Jorge Masvidal, Santiago Ponzinibbio or Leon Edwards all seemingly available. Needless to say, after his performance at UFC Nashville, the ‘Showtime’ bandwagon is well and truly rolling once more.