Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion Anthony Pettis lost to Eddie Alvarez in the UFC Fight Night 81 co-main event (video), which took place last Sunday night (Jan. 17, 2016) inside TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on FOX Sports 1.
Despite improvements in his wrestling, “Showtime” was unable to keep himself off the cage — and off the floor — as the ex-Bellator kingpin mugged and slugged his way to a split-decision victory. “The plan was to keep him up against the cage,” Alvarez admitted after the fight.
That didn’t sit well with his opponent, who later asked for a “real fight” as soon as possible, in a tweet that was quickly deleted.
“I want to apologize to all of my supporters, came up short last night,” Pettis wrote on Instagram. “Only way to go is up from here and get better. I’m healthy and ready to get back on the grind. Staying positive and motivated.”
The loss was the second straight for Pettis, who at just 28 years old, has plenty of time to get his mixed martial arts (MMA) career back on track. Besides, we still have some unfinished business between “Showtime” and this resurgent lightweight.
Book it.