At UFC 197 in Las Vegas, former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis attempted to break his two-fight losing streak when he fought Brazilian kickmaster Edson Barboza. He did not succeed. Following Barboza’s dominant performance that saw Pettis unable to catch him with nearly anything, Barboza took the “W” via unanimous decision.
The fight was three rounds full of crazy kicks from both fighters, including a jumping round kick, wheel kick, and spinning heel kick. Barboza holds the distinction of ending three fights with leg kicks, and although this fight went all 15 minutes, Pettis’ left leg visibly paid the price, as Bleacher Report’s Brian Oswald and UFC 197’s official Twitter account pointed out:
Pettis got him a nice little shiner there #UFC197 pic.twitter.com/1nQGqdj9Ur
— Brian Oswald (@briancoswald) April 24, 2016
That’s a CRACK if we’ve ever heard one! OUCH!! @EdsonBarbozaJR leg kicks are NASTY #UFC197 https://t.co/O4ZR8DPT3w
— #UFC197 (@ufc) April 24, 2016
Despite Pettis’ making a few takedown attempts, the fight stayed on the feet virtually the whole time. In the first two rounds, Barboza seemed content to act as a counterstriker, forcing Pettis to come forward and push the action, but to little success. Pettis’ attacks failed to land, and he was unable to tie Barboza up for clinch work or a takedown. By the third round, “Showtime” was bloodied in the face and bruised all over. Las Vegas Review Journal‘s Heidi Fang noted Barboza’s obvious advantage as a counterstriker:
Barboza’s counters are killers. Pettis gets a shot in to the body and gets caught on the way out with that left.
— Heidi Fang (@HeidiFang) April 24, 2016
With this win, Barboza bounces back from his loss to Tony Ferguson via Brabo choke in December 2015, taking his last five fights to 3-2. The victory could potentially catapult Barboza into the Top Five, as Pettis ranked No. 3 going into this fight. He’s thirsty for the step up in competition.
In his post-fight interview in the Octagon, Barboza said to commentator Joe Rogan, “I think sometimes my coaches believe in me more than I do, but now I believe in my abilities out there. Whatever the UFC wants I’m ready, and I’m 100 percent sure I will be better next time.”
Eddie Alvarez, who defeated Pettis in January via split decision, and undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov are the top two lightweight contenders. But Barboza has lost to Ferguson, Donald Cerrone and Michael Johnson—ranked fourth, fifth, and seventh, respectively. Rather than leapfrog over them, Barboza could face fellow prospects Michael Chiesa or the winner of Dustin Poirier vs. Bobby Green.
Pettis’ third consecutive loss seems to have unmoored the Milwaukee-based fighter. “It wasn’t that I was worried about his different kicks, it was more that he was a hard guy to land on,” he said in his post-fight interview. “We got into more of a hand fight, and when I was in there, I felt comfortable. This is all that I know, so this is tough.”
In his title challenge in August 2013, Pettis armbarred Benson Henderson to take the belt in the first round. His inaugural defense came in December 2014 in the form of Gilbert Melendez, whom he submitted in the second round via guillotine—becoming the first to stop Melendez in any way during a fight. Just four months later, Pettis fought Rafael Dos Anjos and lost the title in a unanimous decision. He may have to reestablish himself and take a fight with an unranked athlete or two before the UFC offers him another top-15 fight.
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