NAFC Owner Duke Roufus: ‘I Want Sergio Pettis to Be Sergio Pettis’

A little over two weeks ago, RFA 7 planned to feature undefeated Sergio “The Phenom” Pettis against Matt Manzanares, while Leandro Silva planned on facing Brandon “Ruckus” Thatch in the event’s headliner, but when a leg infection plagued Silva, pl…

A little over two weeks ago, RFA 7 planned to feature undefeated Sergio “The Phenom” Pettis against Matt Manzanares, while Leandro Silva planned on facing Brandon “Ruckus” Thatch in the event’s headliner, but when a leg infection plagued Silva, plans changed.

Then-undefeated Mike Rhodes, who actually looked forward to fighting at NAFC: Battleground, which emanates live from Milwaukee’s Potawatomi Bingo Casino tonight, would replace Silva while enjoying the chance to share a card with Pettis.

However, injury struck Manzanares days later, and RFA officials could not find a replacement for him, so they allowed Pettis to top the “Battleground” card opposite Josh Robinson. Robinson, currently riding a two-fight losing streak, defeated Pettis‘ teammate, highly touted flyweight Dustin Ortiz in May 2012.

For Roufusport head trainer and NAFC owner Duke RoufusRFA president Ed Soares‘ decision to let Pettis fight on this card proved the right one, given Pettis‘ stance.

“They understand Sergio’s stance, that he wanted to fight as soon as possible,” Roufus told Bleacher Report MMA in an exclusive interview, “so they were very generous to let him fight outside the organization and stay busy.”

RFA officials brought the issue of Manzanares‘ injury to the attention of Roufus and Pettis before news of the change spread, but the infection to Silva caused the pieces to fall into place for Pettis, as well as teammate Rhodes.

“Unfortunately, they couldn’t get anyone for [Sergio’s] fight on TV; at the same time they lost [Leandro], and everything just seemed to work itself out,” Roufus said.

“Obviously Sergio would love to fight on TV, but luckily, he’s a 19-year-old kid who’s got many years ahead of him.”

Robinson may fight with an almost .500 record, but don’t let his record fool you. Robinson owns the majority of his pro triumphs by submission and his skill set brings more danger to Pettis than most may think.

“The cool thing [about Josh], he’s going to probably choose to stand and kick-box with Sergio,” Roufus said of Robinson, who vocalized his desire to knock Pettis out.

Roufus will note that while Sergio’s older brother and current UFC featherweight title contender Anthony “Showtime” Pettis fights with more flamboyance and flash, Sergio brings a game that, at only 19, proves technically sound every time fight night rolls around.

However, when it comes to both the talks of Sergio in the UFC, as well as the wonders of how he will break out as his own body in his own pro career, Roufus won’t worry too much about how quickly Sergio joins the UFC’s flyweight class because he knows the time will come when Dana White and Co. come calling.

Right now, Roufus only wishes for the already-developed Sergio to progress further as himself and not worry about trying to emulate Anthony.

“Right now, he’s still ‘Anthony Pettis‘ brother,'” Roufus said, “and I’m helping to coach him through that, don’t get caught up in the pressure; you have to perform because you’re trying to be ‘Showtime’. When have you done a Showtime Kick? I want Sergio to be Sergio, and Anthony to be Anthony.”

The undefeated prospect will have the opportunity to break out further into his own tonight when he and Robinson square off.

Unquestionably, Sergio represents a breed like none other, and with an improvement to 7-0, few will doubt that his breed shines in a much different light than that of his older brother.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Resurrection Fighting Alliance Developing the Next GSP and Jon Jones of MMA

Before Georges St-Pierre made it to the UFC, he started out in promotions like TKO and Universal Combat Challenge in his home country of Canada. The same can be said for current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who cut his teeth in regional sh…

Before Georges St-Pierre made it to the UFC, he started out in promotions like TKO and Universal Combat Challenge in his home country of Canada. The same can be said for current UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who cut his teeth in regional shows like Battle Cage Xtreme.

Virtually every fighter that’s in the UFC or Bellator now started somewhere else with a promotion that looked to build young talent and prepare them for the next part of their careers so they could perform on the biggest stages under the brightest lights.

The Resurrection Fighting Alliance hopes to brand itself as the premiere league that will breed and grow the best up-and-coming talent in the MMA world.

Headed up by famed MMA manager Ed Soares, the RFA is quickly becoming the home to many top prospects in the sport.  The goal, according to the promotion’s president, is to make opportunities for the best young fighters in MMA and to give them a home as they develop into the superstars of tomorrow.

“We’re out there trying to create more opportunities for fighters,” Soares told Bleacher Report.   “Sven (Bean) has been in the business a long time, I’ve been in the business a long time, everyone involved has been in the business for a long time.  At the end of the day, we’re fans of the sport and we’ve worked at every angle of the sport and we just try to do the best that we can.”

While the RFA did recently sign a multi-fight television deal with AXS TV, they aren’t trying to match other promotions dollar for dollar when it comes to huge over-the-top shows.  They are building from the ground up, and slowly but surely they believe they can be a success in the difficult business of MMA.

“We’re going to build this step by step.  We don’t have some big money investor behind us, not yet, and even if we did we’re going to be very smart and we’re going to build it one step at a time.  I don’t know if it’s the right plan, but it’s the plan that we’re doing and it’s the plan that’s going to work in the long run,” Soares stated.   “Because I’m not just trying to do one or two events and create a bunch of hype. I really want to create an opportunity to start developing fighters and become what Tuesday Night Fights on USA where the guys got built up big enough to go to the big pay-per-view shows or go to a bigger show.”

The talent pool at RFA is already pretty deep and it’s only growing with each show.  They’ve already landed some famous names with fighters like rising star Sergio Pettis (younger brother of UFC featherweight contender Anthony Pettis), and will soon feature Chinzo Machida, the older sibling of former UFC champion Lyoto Machida

Add to that names like undefeated Ohio State All-American Lance Palmer and upcoming headliner Brandon Thatch, who put in work with UFC champion Georges St-Pierre recently, and the RFA is quickly becoming the go-to promotion for the best young talent.

“That’s what we want to do.  We want do develop new talent,” said Soares.

The plan for 2013 is for the RFA to do between eight and 10 shows total, and with each card they are adding new talent to the roster.  The developmental process isn’t something that happens overnight, but Soares believes a slow and steady approach will eventually prove that their competitors are destined to be future champions in promotions like the UFC.

“It’s not going to be built overnight.  It’s not going to be built in two or three shows,” said Soares.   “We have to slowly build it up, make a strong foundation and the strong foundation will make everything better.”

The next RFA show will air on AXS TV on Friday night from Denver, Colarado, and tickets are still available for the event.

Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained first hand unless otherwise noted.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Update: Aldo vs. Pettis to Serve as Main Event of UFC 163 in Brazil [UH-DUH!]


(The loyalty of your fellow Brazilians doesn’t mean shit when you’ve grabbed the last Giga Pet off the shelf on Black Friday. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

Well alright, alright, alright, it looks like the UFC will be returning to the motherland yet again in 2013.

After initially refusing to fight lightweight contender Anthony Pettis, then requesting that the fight be held at a catchweight (sound familiar, Andy?), it was announced a couple weeks ago that featherweight champion Jose Aldo would in fact be fighting Pettis for the featherweight title at an event and location TBD. If Aldo was victorious, however, he would receive the next shot at the winner of the Ben Henderson/Gil Melendez lightweight title fight on April 20th. Brazilians, man. They treat their belts like Sauron’s Ring.

In either case, it is being passed around that both an event and location have been named for the upcoming “superfight,” which is apparently what we’re calling it now: UFC 163, at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Because of course Brazil.

No other fights have been announced for the event, but it might interest you to know that Aldo is currently resting at a very modest -155 favorite over Pettis at 5Dimes. So, do whatever you want with that bit of info.

So…how about this new pope business?

J. Jones


(The loyalty of your fellow Brazilians doesn’t mean shit when you’ve grabbed the last Giga Pet off the shelf on Black Friday. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

Well alright, alright, alright, it looks like the UFC will be returning to the motherland yet again in 2013.

After initially refusing to fight lightweight contender Anthony Pettis, then requesting that the fight be held at a catchweight (sound familiar, Andy?), it was announced a couple weeks ago that featherweight champion Jose Aldo would in fact be fighting Pettis for the featherweight title at an event and location TBD. If Aldo was victorious, however, he would receive the next shot at the winner of the Ben Henderson/Gil Melendez lightweight title fight on April 20th. Brazilians, man. They treat their belts like Sauron’s Ring.

In either case, it is being passed around that both an event and location have been named for the upcoming “superfight,” which is apparently what we’re calling it now: UFC 163, at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Because of course Brazil.

No other fights have been announced for the event, but it might interest you to know that Aldo is currently resting at a very modest -155 favorite over Pettis at 5Dimes. So, do whatever you want with that bit of info.

So…how about this new pope business?

J. Jones

If Anthony Pettis Beats Jose Aldo, He Must Stay at Featherweight to Defend Title

It looks like Anthony Pettis will have to forgo his dream of being a two-weight class champion for now, because if he beats Jose Aldo in August, he’s stuck at featherweight for the foreseeable future. Pettis called for a fight with featherweight champi…

It looks like Anthony Pettis will have to forgo his dream of being a two-weight class champion for now, because if he beats Jose Aldo in August, he’s stuck at featherweight for the foreseeable future.

Pettis called for a fight with featherweight champion Jose Aldo following the 145-pound champion’s win over Frankie Edgar at UFC 156 just a few weeks ago.

Technically, Pettis was already in line for a shot at the lightweight championship against the winner of the upcoming UFC on Fox 7 main event bout between Benson Henderson and Gilbert Melendez.

Instead of sitting and waiting for that fight to happen and then the chance to face the winner, Pettis seized the timing of Aldo’s win and asked to face him at featherweight.

The UFC jumped at the chance to make the fight a reality, and after a few bumps in the road last weekend, they made the fight official on Monday with Aldo vs. Pettis now squared away for August 3 with the featherweight title up for grabs.

Prior to the fight being made, however, Pettis had stated he was hoping to face Aldo and then jump back to 155 pounds and still face the winner of Henderson vs. Melendez.

On Tuesday night while appearing on UFC Tonight, president Dana White said that idea won’t work because if Pettis beats Aldo, he will be staying at featherweight to defend the belt.

“If Pettis wins the fight, Pettis is going to have to stay at 145 and defend that belt a couple times, then he can move to 155,” said White.

Another odd caveat thrown into the title fight between Aldo and Pettis is in the scenario that the champion holds on to his belt and defeats the former lightweight contender.

Part of the condition of accepting the fight with Pettis was that if Aldo wins, he could then move to 155 pounds and challenge the champion in that weight class.

Dana White agreed to the move, but says if Aldo moves to lightweight, the same condition applies that he has to stay there and will not be allowed to immediately return to featherweight should he capture the title.

“If (Aldo) moves to 155, he stays at 155 and he holds that belt,” White stated.

So it appears a whole new set of stipulations are in place for the Aldo vs. Pettis fight, and the bout is still more than five months away from taking place.

Damon Martin is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Update: Jose Aldo vs. Anthony Pettis Official, Aldo Will Receive a Lightweight Title Shot With Win


(Fan-made poster via CageWall.com)

Since we first wrote about Jose Aldo‘s refusal to fight Anthony Pettis, the UFC featherweight champion has changed his mind about the matchup — twice, actually. First, Aldo said that he would fight Pettis, but only in a non-title fight:

Who deserves a chance in the first place, is Ricardo Lamas, because he has beaten Erik Koch, who was the next contender. He earned the chance after the victory,” said Aldo in an interview with TATAME. “Cub Swanson is another too. They are athletes in the division, struggling for a long time for a shot at the belt, which never arrives according to opponents the UFC is scheduling. If the UFC wants a superfight, I do not see any problem. I fight whoever, but the belt has to be against Lamas or Swanson.”

They created a ranking that is not serving for anything, because they’re pulling people from other divisions. This is only happening on my weight, I see it nowhere else,” Aldo continued, pointing to the UFC’s recent decision to create an official system of sorting their fighters out. “It is an injustice to others.”

Bro, don’t even get us started on the useless goddamned rankings; at least the featherweight champion is concerned about the legitimacy of his division. But there was another twist to this story yesterday — Aldo finally agreed to put his 145-pound title on the line against Pettis at the original August 3rd date, once he was offered an interesting incentive:


(Fan-made poster via CageWall.com)

Since we first wrote about Jose Aldo‘s refusal to fight Anthony Pettis, the UFC featherweight champion has changed his mind about the matchup — twice, actually. First, Aldo said that he would fight Pettis, but only in a non-title fight:

Who deserves a chance in the first place, is Ricardo Lamas, because he has beaten Erik Koch, who was the next contender. He earned the chance after the victory,” said Aldo in an interview with TATAME. “Cub Swanson is another too. They are athletes in the division, struggling for a long time for a shot at the belt, which never arrives according to opponents the UFC is scheduling. If the UFC wants a superfight, I do not see any problem. I fight whoever, but the belt has to be against Lamas or Swanson.”

They created a ranking that is not serving for anything, because they’re pulling people from other divisions. This is only happening on my weight, I see it nowhere else,” Aldo continued, pointing to the UFC’s recent decision to create an official system of sorting their fighters out. “It is an injustice to others.”

Bro, don’t even get us started on the useless goddamned rankings; at least the featherweight champion is concerned about the legitimacy of his division. But there was another twist to this story yesterday — Aldo finally agreed to put his 145-pound title on the line against Pettis at the original August 3rd date, once he was offered an interesting incentive:

Shortly after White confirmed that Aldo had agreed to put his UFC featherweight title on the line against Pettis, Brazilian website Tatame.com spoke with Aldo, who said that his demand was simple. If Pettis, like Frankie Edgar, was granted a title shot in his 145-pound debut, then Aldo wanted a 155-pound title shot in return if he is victorious over that division’s No. 1 contender. White agreed, and the deal was done.

No details on whether or not Aldo would have to vacate the 145-pound belt or even if he would want the move to 155 pounds to be a permanent one have been determined…

With a win over Pettis, Aldo would then face the winner of Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez on April 20th. And if Pettis wins the featherweight belt…well, I don’t think anybody’s thought that far ahead yet. Let’s just say that there would be a contendership vacuum in the lightweight division, and suddenly, a fight like Gray Maynard vs. TJ Grant might actually have “title implications.”

Update: Jose Aldo vs. Anthony Pettis Official, Aldo Will Receive a Lightweight Title Shot With Win


(Fan-made poster via CageWall.com)

Since we first wrote about Jose Aldo‘s refusal to fight Anthony Pettis, the UFC featherweight champion has changed his mind about the matchup — twice, actually. First, Aldo said that he would fight Pettis, but only in a non-title fight:

Who deserves a chance in the first place, is Ricardo Lamas, because he has beaten Erik Koch, who was the next contender. He earned the chance after the victory,” said Aldo in an interview with TATAME. “Cub Swanson is another too. They are athletes in the division, struggling for a long time for a shot at the belt, which never arrives according to opponents the UFC is scheduling. If the UFC wants a superfight, I do not see any problem. I fight whoever, but the belt has to be against Lamas or Swanson.”

They created a ranking that is not serving for anything, because they’re pulling people from other divisions. This is only happening on my weight, I see it nowhere else,” Aldo continued, pointing to the UFC’s recent decision to create an official system of sorting their fighters out. “It is an injustice to others.”

Bro, don’t even get us started on the useless goddamned rankings; at least the featherweight champion is concerned about the legitimacy of his division. But there was another twist to this story yesterday — Aldo finally agreed to put his 145-pound title on the line against Pettis at the original August 3rd date, once he was offered an interesting incentive:


(Fan-made poster via CageWall.com)

Since we first wrote about Jose Aldo‘s refusal to fight Anthony Pettis, the UFC featherweight champion has changed his mind about the matchup — twice, actually. First, Aldo said that he would fight Pettis, but only in a non-title fight:

Who deserves a chance in the first place, is Ricardo Lamas, because he has beaten Erik Koch, who was the next contender. He earned the chance after the victory,” said Aldo in an interview with TATAME. “Cub Swanson is another too. They are athletes in the division, struggling for a long time for a shot at the belt, which never arrives according to opponents the UFC is scheduling. If the UFC wants a superfight, I do not see any problem. I fight whoever, but the belt has to be against Lamas or Swanson.”

They created a ranking that is not serving for anything, because they’re pulling people from other divisions. This is only happening on my weight, I see it nowhere else,” Aldo continued, pointing to the UFC’s recent decision to create an official system of sorting their fighters out. “It is an injustice to others.”

Bro, don’t even get us started on the useless goddamned rankings; at least the featherweight champion is concerned about the legitimacy of his division. But there was another twist to this story yesterday — Aldo finally agreed to put his 145-pound title on the line against Pettis at the original August 3rd date, once he was offered an interesting incentive:

Shortly after White confirmed that Aldo had agreed to put his UFC featherweight title on the line against Pettis, Brazilian website Tatame.com spoke with Aldo, who said that his demand was simple. If Pettis, like Frankie Edgar, was granted a title shot in his 145-pound debut, then Aldo wanted a 155-pound title shot in return if he is victorious over that division’s No. 1 contender. White agreed, and the deal was done.

No details on whether or not Aldo would have to vacate the 145-pound belt or even if he would want the move to 155 pounds to be a permanent one have been determined…

With a win over Pettis, Aldo would then face the winner of Benson Henderson vs. Gilbert Melendez on April 20th. And if Pettis wins the featherweight belt…well, I don’t think anybody’s thought that far ahead yet. Let’s just say that there would be a contendership vacuum in the lightweight division, and suddenly, a fight like Gray Maynard vs. TJ Grant might actually have “title implications.”