Anthony Pettis defeated Benson Henderson to claim the UFC lightweight title in an impressive first-round submission victory in August 2013. He’ll step in to defend his title on Dec. 6—462 days after he won the belt.
Gilbert Melendez defeated Diego Sanchez in what Joe Rogan immediately called the best fight he’d ever seen to reaffirm himself as the top title contender and secure his second opportunity at proving himself the planet’s best fighter at 155 pounds. He’ll meet Pettis on Dec. 6—413 days since he last stepped in the cage.
That’s not exactly the sort of consistency you’d like to see from the two best fighters in the weight class, especially considering fighters like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Donald Cerrone and Rafael dos Anjos have done just about everything and then some to earn their shot at UFC gold.
Thankfully, the complaints will come to a halt in just a few days as the champion makes his return to the cage.
Scroll on to see how we break down the co-main event to UFC 181.