If you ask the casual UFC fan about the sport’s top fighters, you’ll typically get a pretty standard list in return. Jon Jones will be somewhere near the top. So will middleweight kingpin Chris Weidman, featherweight standout Jose Aldo and even women’s bantamweight Ronda Rousey.
It’s only after rattling off a string of other names that Anthony Pettis (18-2) tends to enter the mix.
Is that fair? Should the UFC’s lightweight champion, a man who won the title from the king of close decisions, Benson Henderson, in a runaway romp, be considered among the elite? Should his every fight, not just Saturday’s tilt against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 185, be greeted with more fanfare than this?
Bleacher Report’s lead combat sports writer Jonathan Snowden and Kenny Florian, former UFC lightweight contender and current Fox Sports 1 broadcaster extraordinaire, tackle the issue—but carefully. Kenny didn’t want to muss his hair.
Kenny Florian: He definitely is on my list of elite fighters, and I do think he is undervalued tremendously. However, consistency is key in this sport. And we just haven’t seen him enough.
The hardcores know how good he is. But he’s not sticking in the memory of the general MMA fans. That’s an issue for Pettis, but he’s not alone. I think that’s an issue with Cain Velasquez right now, too. Fortunately, Cain has built much more of a history with UFC fans, so it’s easier to return after time off.
It’s tougher for Pettis. These guys need to be performing on a pretty consistent basis—and Anthony has really struggled with injuries. That’s why we haven’t seen the same praise and attention thrown his way. It’s unfortunate.
Jonathan Snowden: Since splitting his first two fights in the Octagon way back in 2011, Pettis has really come into his own. He’s finished four of the best fighters in the division, winning a Performance of the Night bonus each time out.
But I think you’re right. There’s a more telling statistic hidden in there. In three years, Pettis has only fought four times. Combined, he has less than five total rounds under his belt during that period. That’s just not enough to make the impact you need.
No one would encourage a fighter to come to the cage hurt—but there’s a fine line between injuries everyone accumulates and works through and something that should keep you out of action for months. That’s a tricky balancing act, isn’t it?
Florian: There does need to be a balance. Every three-to-four months, guys should be looking to compete. I do know he wants to get at least three fights in this year. He’s in the prime of his career right now. He wants to fight.
I think Pettis realizes the importance of being out there again and again. Whether it’s sponsors, other opportunities outside of the cage or building that fanbase so people want to see you fight, being active is only going to help you.
Fighters need to compete to make people want to see them compete again. It equals dollars for him if he can attract pay-per-view buys. Not to mention, you want to say sharp. It’s not just economic.
Snowden: What frustrates me the most is that Pettis has shown transcendent ability when he has had the chance to go out and perform. My friend Patrick Wyman from Sherdog calls him a “generational” fighter.
That’s bold praise.
I’m often accused of hyperbole—and that’s fair. I tend to get carried away when a fighter does something worth getting carried away about. But I think we are on to something here. Pettis is a gifted fighter on the mat and one of the smartest we’ve ever seen from range with both kicks and punches.
You’ve been in the cage with one of the consensus greats in the division in B.J Penn. So you have some expertise here. Is it unthinkable that Pettis has the potential to be the best?
Florian: I don’t think that’s out of the realm of possibility. The skills he’s shown are very impressive. He’s not just beating top guys—he’s making it look easy. He’s finishing them.
The most impressive thing about Pettis is that he carries with him an intuition. When he fights you can see he has this confidence and belief in himself. He has the fearlessness to let his skills truly shine. He can go out there, let go of all the pressure and just compete—and do it with flash and pizzazz.
I think that’s a hard thing for a lot of guys. Jon Jones has it. Conor McGregor looks like he does too. But even Jose Aldo, for as great as he is, feels like he’s holding something back. Like he’s maybe not letting it all go, that he’s not showing all of his skills in the Octagon. With Pettis, I get the sense he feels like he’s in a training session.
His ability to find your smallest mistake and expose you is unlike most fighters out there. He has a killer instinct a lot like Anderson Silva’s. It reminds me of when Silva was on his run.
Anthony Pettis is a special athlete and a superstar in the making. The only things slowing him down are injuries. It’s hard to build a legend when you can’t fight on a consistent basis. But I think he’s a special fighter, and he certainly could go down as the best lightweight of all time.
Jonathan Snowden covers combat sports for Bleacher Report.
Kenny Florian fought for the UFC title on two occasions and is currently a color commentator and studio analyst for Fox Sports 1.
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