Anthony Pettis seems to, more or less, have dodged a bullet.
Dana White, speaking with Fox Sports, confirmed on Saturday night that the newly crowned lightweight champion has suffered a knee injury. Luckily, the UFC president said that it was not severe enough to force a withdrawal from his upcoming title fight with Josh Thomson in December’s UFC on Fox 9 event, flatly saying “he’s going to fight…for sure.”
There is no word yet on whether this is a new injury or an aggravation of the previous knee injuries he suffered earlier in the year.
Pettis was forced to withdraw from a featherweight title bout against Jose Aldo at UFC 163 due to an injury to the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in his left knee. He also suffered an injury in his right knee during his title fight with Benson Henderson at UFC 164. Despite the problem, he forced “Smooth” to tap to an armbar in the first round.
Injuries have stolen a great deal of Pettis‘ time in the UFC thus far. Shoulder surgery followed by a staph infection caused him to miss most of 2012, delaying his title hopes for more than 18 months.
He is currently consulting with Dr. Steven Sanders, the go-to Las Vegas area orthopedist for the UFC. Dr. Sanders stated the injury would not require surgery.
UFC on Fox 9 is headlined by the lightweight title fight between “Showtime” and Thomson. Thomson is the former Strikeforce lightweight champion who surged back into relevance following his awesome knockout of Nate Diaz at UFC on Fox 7.
Stick with Bleacher Report for more updates when they become available.
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