Anthony Pettis believes Conor McGregor is the true UFC lightweight champion heading into UFC 229.
Pettis is also booked for this event. He’ll take on former interim lightweight champ Tony Ferguson in the co-main event.
Pettis won his last bout in impressive fashion. He was able to score a submission win over Michael Chiesa to get back to his winning ways.
‘Showtime’s’ View At 155 Pounds
Pettis recently stated in an interview that he believes Nurmagomedov is the best fighter in the division.
But just because that is the case, he doesn’t believe Khabib is the true champion. He believes McGregor is and will prove that come fight night due to his striking power.
“Khabib (is the best lightweight),” Pettis said in Las Vegas (H/T to MMAJunkie). “I think Conor wins. Knockout. I don’t know what round, because Khabib gets hit. Conor has the weapon to put him away.”
Holes
Pettis brought up how everyone saw the holes in Nurmagomedov’s game in his most recent fight. “Showtime” believes McGregor will emerge on top because of them:
“We all saw holes in his striking game. We saw his last fight against Al (Iaquinta). We’ve seen how he performs. If he comes like that against Conor, it’s over. I’m sure he’s motivated and I’m sure Conor is motivated.”
The True Champion
Pettis stated that in his eyes, he sees McGregor as the true champion of the weight class. The reason for this is due to him scoring a second-round KO over Eddie Alvarez to win the title at UFC 205 in November 2016:
“I think Conor’s win over Eddie solidifies him as the champion,” Pettis said. “Khabib beat Al Iaquinta. That’s just facts. The belt is where it is. They had to do it for the business – they had to move it forward. But if it was true to the game, Conor would be the champion.”
The UFC 229 pay-per-view event is set to take place on Saturday, October 6, 2018, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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