The Anthony “Showtime” Pettis vs. Rafael dos Anjos fight is already a good one on paper. Pettis is a dynamic champion who is facing a versatile, no-nonsense top contender.
The fact that undefeated contender Khabib Nurmagomedov is lurking for the winner only makes the situation surrounding the UFC lightweight title all the more compelling.
On Saturday, from the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas, at UFC 185, Pettis will attempt to defend his UFC lightweight title for the second time against Dos Anjos. The two men met for the first of their two ceremonial staredowns on Thursday. The second took place at Friday’s weigh-in.
Fox Sports captured this image from the first event:
While both fighters carried a very serious demeanor for the snapshot, there’s seemingly no bad blood and a wealth of respect between the two men. Per John Morgan and Ken Hathaway of MMA Junkie, Pettis called Dos Anjos “the most dangerous guy in the division”—besides Nurmagomedov.
There’s seemingly no way Pettis is looking past such a formidable foe. Although, it’s easy to see how Nurmagomedov might be grabbing the champion’s attention. Check out this tweet from Nurmagomedov:
Per the tweet below and quote per MMA junkie, Pettis has caught wind of Nurmagomedov’s trolling.
Pettis is not a loud champion with a ton of bravado, but he does have a great amount of pride. As he states to Matt Parrino of UFC.com, he hears the critics.
“I definitely hear and see; it’s impossible not to hear it and not to see it,” Pettis said. “People calling me injury prone and paper champion, but I just take the higher route.”
With Donald Cerrone set to face Nurmagomedov, the latter has a stiff test at hand before he can get in the Octagon with Pettis—should he win on Saturday.
While all of the background chatter takes place regarding a fight that has yet to be made, Dos Anjos is quietly waiting and hoping he can take advantage of a champion who might be looking too far ahead. With wins over Nate Diaz and Benson Henderson in his last two bouts, Dos Anjos has proved he is capable of beating big names.
Which fighter will put themselves in position to defend the title against the winner of the Cerrone-Nurmagomedov scrap?
We’ll find out on Saturday, but this is going to be an interesting scrap and post-fight interview, no matter who wins.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com