After a victory this past weekend at UFC Vegas 17 to fulfill his contracted fights, former Lightweight champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis has decided to part ways with the UFC.
Thank you @ufc @danawhite
pic.twitter.com/pJtBo2Hpxc
— Anthony Pettis (@Showtimepettis) December 23, 2020
The former WEC and UFC champion posted a letter to the UFC from himself thanking them for his time in the organization and what they were able to achieve together.
“Dana- thank you for everything you have done for me. I was just a kid from the south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a big dream. You helped me turn that dream into a reality. THANKYOU!!!”
With his win, this past Saturday Pettis was currently on a two-fight winning streak following a defeat to Nate Diaz as UFC 241 and a subsequent defeat to Diego Pereira at UFC 246.
As he announced his departure he also announced that he will be exploring free agency, hinting that he is yet to find the right organization to continue his career.
Earlier this year his younger brother Sergio Pettis made the move from the UFC to Bellator to take part in their Bantamweight division. Since then he has gone on to debut and successfully earns his first win in the organization.
Earning the title at lightweight, Pettis also fought at both Featherweight and Welterweight with varying levels of success, however, following his latest victory he shared that he planned to move back down to Lightweight where he had claimed the title before as he felt as though this was the correct weight class for him.
Upon moving up into the Welterweight division Pettis was able to secure a highlight-reel knockout of top contender Stephen Thompson setting up a super fight with Nate Diaz. Following the two losses, Pettis remained at Welterweight taking on Donald Cerrone and Alex Morono emerging victorious both times by decision.