Former WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis comes off his lackluster defeat to Clay Guida, and it came after he was offered to sit out and wait for the winner of Edgar vs. Maynard, something he had no intentions of doing after his impressive WEC win over Ben Henderson in 2010.
If not for that loss and the rescheduling of Edgar vs. Maynard , Pettis could be in the main event tonight fighting one of them.
Instead, he finds himself on the Spike TV undercard of tonight’s event, and it comes against “Lil Heathen” Jeremy Stephens, one of the UFC’s most exciting and durable lightweights.
Stephens comes off his two victories versus Marcus Davis and Danny Downes. His knockout over Davis is one of the leading candidates for 2011’s knockout of the year.
In a fight that could set back Pettis even more if he comes up short, look for him to fight a safe fight and one that he can guarantee himself a victory without taking many risks. That’s something any of Stephens’ opponents would choose not to do, and it will be what wins or loses Pettis this fight.
A victory over Stephens puts Pettis back into the title picture, but it won’t guarantee him a title shot in the stacked lightweight division. It will be one of the more important fights of his career in getting him ready for that potential shot in 2012.
UFC 136 will also host two title fights. The main event will feature UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar going up against Gray Maynard for the third time.
The co-main event will be a featherweight title fight between UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and No. 1 contender Kenny Florian. Aldo comes into the bout off his victory over Mark Hominick while Florian was last seen defeating Diego Nunes in his 145 pound debut.
Other main card bouts include Joe Lauzon vs. Melvin Guillard, Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann and Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia.
The event will kick off its preliminary card on Facebook at 6 p.m. ET and will feature four bouts, including Mike Massenzio vs. Steve Cantwell.
The Spike TV portion of UFC 136 will be broadcast at 8 p.m. ET. It will feature two bouts, including Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago and Anthony Pettis vs. Jeremy Stephens.
Be sure to check out Bleacher Report for all things UFC 136. B/R is your home for MMA, from pre-fight predictions to in-fight coverage , live results and post-fight analysis…which you can check out on our UFC 136 event hub.