One day you’re the cock of the walk, the next day you’re a feather duster.
Despite his many accomplishments in combat sports, former middleweight champion Anderson Silva found himself unwanted by just about every competing promotion after Dana White and Co. released the 45 year-old “Spider” from his UFC contract.
Ex-lightweight champion Anthony Pettis had no interest in following in those footsteps.
“Not trying to make this sound bad, but Anderson Silva, one of my idols, to see how he ended in the UFC, I’m like, you know I think it’s time for me to make a change and get that fire ignited again, and find some new goals and some new competition,” Pettis told South China Morning Post. “And it was just perfect timing with my contract ending.”
Sorry Scott, no “Venom” matchup for you.
Pettis, who turns 34 next month, recently signed with Proferssional Fighters League (PFL) and is expected to compete in the 2021 season. Not only can “Showtime” earn himself another world title, he could also take home the $1 million prize.
“I’m still young in this game, I’m back motivated and hungry to become a champion and the deal the PFL offered me was very, very fair,” Pettis continued. “And the opportunity to become a champion in 12 months, that’s exactly what I was looking for. Also they’re on ESPN, so it doesn’t change my audience, they can see my fights the exact same way, it just really made sense.”
I guess we’ll find out for sure in 2021.