Anthony Pettis isn’t wasting much time getting back in the Octagon after losing his belt.
The former UFC lightweight champion will return quickly to action against Myles Jury in the co-main event of UFC on FOX 16 on July 25 in Chicago. Pettis dropped the title to Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision at UFC 185 last month.
Pettis (18-3) broke his orbital bone in the loss to dos Anjos, but should be fully healed by July. Dos Anjos dominated the fight, but Pettis didn’t seem the same after a dos Anjos left hand broke the bone in the first round. Before the loss, Pettis had won five straight, including a second-round submission win over Gilbert Melendez at UFC 181 in December. The 28-year-old Milwaukee native won the belt from Benson Henderson at UFC 164 in August 2013.
Jury (15-1) had his undefeated streak snapped by Donald Cerrone in the co-main event of UFC 182 in January. Cerrone beat the San Diego resident in an uneventful unanimous decision. Jury, 26, had won six straight in the UFC before the defeat and was one of the young, up-and-coming stars of the division. The Alliance MMA product owns wins over Michael Johnson, Diego Sanchez and Takanori Gomi.
UFC on FOX 16 will be headlined by a bantamweight title fight between champion T.J. Dillashaw and Renan Barao. Also on the card, which will take place at United Center, is a potential women’s bantamweight title eliminator between Miesha Tate and Jessica Eye.