Ben Henderson left no doubt that he’s the rightful UFC light heavyweight champion, but it might take a few more title defenses to establish him as the best in the sport.Fortunately, that’s the great thing about new title runs.In a division as deep as l…
Ben Henderson left no doubt that he’s the rightful UFC light heavyweight champion, but it might take a few more title defenses to establish him as the best in the sport.
Fortunately, that’s the great thing about new title runs.
In a division as deep as lightweight, there’s still a huge amount of matches to make, especially given that “Bendo” is a relatively young fighter who always stays healthy.
Here are the five fights that make the most sense for him and the lightweight division right now, as the champion prepares to make his third title defense in the UFC.
The personal animosity between lightweight contenders Anthony Pettis and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone shows no sign of abating, with Pettis telling Fight Hub TV that he respects his upcoming opponent’s skills, but little else about him. That may be be…
The personal animosity between lightweight contenders Anthony Pettis and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone shows no sign of abating, with Pettis telling Fight Hub TV that he respects his upcoming opponent’s skills, but little else about him.
That may be because Cerrone had the temerity to call out the former WEC lightweight champion all the way back in August, shortly before his fight against Melvin Guillard.
In an interview with Lowkick (H/T Bloody Elbow), Cerrone made it clear he’d rather fight “Pettis’ b**** ass” his former training partner Guillard, accusing Pettis of hiding behind his shoulder injury.
At the time, those comments caught Pettis off-guard, considering he’d been ruled out of action for some time. But that fight made perfect sense, soon the two were openly gunning for each other, and UFC matchmakers quickly obliged.
As top-five lightweights, both are gate keepers for each other in their chases for a title shot, but Pettis did not appreciate Cerrone’s tactics in calling him out.
“The way he went about it…If he wants to fight me say you want to fight me, you don’t have to talk s*** about me, y’know?” said Pettis (via Fight Hub TV).
Back in 2011 when the UFC merged the WEC with its own promotion, Pettis, as reigning WEC champion, was considered a sure bet for a unified title fight. He’d won the WEC belt after a stunning performance against Benson Henderson, check-marked with the now-famous Matrix-style kick off the cage.
But while Henderson went on to capture the UFC lightweight championship from Frank Edgar, with three dominant performances behind him, Pettis fell at the first hurdle, losing to Clay Guida in his UFC debut.
When asked by Fight Hub TV about Henderson’s fortunes compared to his, Pettis said the lightweight champion looks a different fighter than the WEC days. He also said, that the Guida loss severely damaged his title aspirations which he’s slowly clawing back.
“I’ve been waiting for the title shot for a long time, but I don’t see that happening,” said Pettis. “Once you’re in the spot, you don’t get chances come around for a long time. I learnt that lesson the hard way. Title shots don’t come up that fast.”
He might not have to wait as long as he thinks.
Henderson is expected to face Nate Diaz in a championship match next week at UFC on Fox 5 in Seattle. After that match, there are no obvious contenders in a heavily stacked division, and, win or lose, Henderson will likely be eager to want to avenge his embarrassing loss to Pettis in 2010.
That puts Pettis one, possibly two matches away from the belt himself. But first, he has to face Cerrone.
Cerrone lost to current contender Diaz last year, and like Pettis has since put together impressive back-to-back wins, with each fighter scoring a head-kick knockout in his last match.
Pettis says his shoulder injury is now completely healed and is expected to face Cowboy at UFC on Fox 6 on January 26, 2013, in Chicago.
Just like December’s UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Diaz card, it’s a pay-per-view caliber lineup that we’ll be getting for free. Early predictions: Johnson/Dodson goes to decision, Cerrone/Pettis wins Fight of the Night, and Rampage blames his impending loss on an injury. Fine, call me a hater — but see if I’m wrong.
The fight many fans have been waiting to see may now have a home and date.As reported by mmajunkie.com, the lightweight contenders could meet at a proposed UFC on Fox 6 card. As of right now, a venue has not been determined, though Chicago has been bro…
The fight many fans have been waiting to see may now have a home and date.
As reported by mmajunkie.com, the lightweight contenders could meet at a proposed UFC on Fox 6 card. As of right now, a venue has not been determined, though Chicago has been brought up by the source from mmajunkie.com.
The two were reported to be fighting back at UFC 150 in Denver, before Pettis went down due to injury. Since then, the two have been linked together more than once, including the upcoming UFC on Fox in Seattle in December.
Cerrone has been hunting for this fight for a while. In the mmajunkie article, Cerrone was quoted about the stipulations surrounding this fight.
“Every time I suggest it, his manager comes back and says, ‘Well, maybe ‘Cowboy’ could fight somebody else right now,’ and it’s just this excuse to not fight,” he said.
Pettis‘ camp disputed that claim and said the fighter would be ready to fight Cerrone, especially if a title shot were on the line.
Pettis recently suffered from a staph infection that was thought to keep him out for a bit, but it seems his recovery went smoothly.
His most recent fight came back in Japan at UFC 144. He defeated Joe Lauzon with a brutal head kick that was thought to have earned him a title shot. That was, until Frankie Edgar was granted an immediate rematch against Ben Henderson.
As for Cerrone, his most recent win came at UFC 150 when he knocked out old training partner Melvin Guillard. He is now 8-1 under the UFC banner.
The issues continue to pile up for UFC lightweight Anthony Pettis. “Showtime” has been sidelined most of the year recovering from a shoulder injury and recently found himself hospitalized with a staph infection in his elbow.The news first broke on Insi…
The issues continue to pile up for UFC lightweight Anthony Pettis. “Showtime” has been sidelined most of the year recovering from a shoulder injury and recently found himself hospitalized with a staph infection in his elbow.
The news first broke on Inside MMA and was confirmed by MMA Weekly shortly thereafter. Pettis‘s struggle to stay healthy has pushed a near-certain matchup with Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone into limbo for the time being.
It has been a tough road for one of the sport’s most touted young stars as he went from a proposed immediate title shot to the uncertain position where he currently stands.
Two years ago, Anthony Pettis was one of the most buzz-worthy fighters in the sport. He helped close out the final chapter of the WEC with a brilliantly-placed “Showtime Kick” and defeated Benson Henderson to win the lightweight title.
With the merger to the UFC complete, Pettis was lined up to face the winner of the bout between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard at UFC 125. Everything appeared to be going in the right direction for the Duke Roufus-trained fighter, as he waited for the next step in his career to take shape.
Unfortunately for Pettis, things took a strange turn following the main event at UFC 125. The fight between Edgar and Maynard turned out to be one of the year’s best but ended in a draw. Based on the excitement factor of the fight, UFC President Dana White decided the two lightweights needed another opportunity to settle the score. In this chaos, Pettis saw his immediate title shot fall by the wayside.
The trilogy bout between Edgar and Maynard was originally scheduled for UFC 130, but after both fighters sustained injuries and were forced to withdraw, the fight was pushed to UFC 136 in October. Pettis decided he was tired of waiting and took a fight against Clay Guida at The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 Finale.
By stepping in with Guida, Pettis knew he was putting his title shot at risk and following a three-round wrestling clinic by “The Carpenter,” his UFC debut and title hopes were dashed for the time being. The Milwaukee native would bounce back strong in his next two outings as he defeated veteran Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision and scored a first-round knockout over Joe Lauzon at UFC 144 in Japan.
Back-to-back victories helped Pettis regain some of the previous ground he lost following the fight with Guida, but in the competitive waters of the lightweight division, it wasn’t enough to secure him a title shot.
Most indicators would place Pettis a fight or two away from an opportunity for UFC gold, and the proposed matchup against Cerrone would be the exact caliber of fight he needs to get there. With the rest of the organization’s top lightweights all locked into upcoming fights, Pettis and Cerrone‘s career paths have seemingly intersected.
It is a fight Cerrone has been vocal about for some time. Both have taken to social media to exchange barbs at one another, but the health issues which have arisen for Pettis continue to push the fight further away. Cerrone is a fighter who loves to stay active, but with Pettis being the only opponent that makes sense at this time, the options for Cerrone are limited.
As for Pettis, his time in the UFC certainly hasn’t gone exactly as planned. He has won two out of three showings, but his time off has allowed the division to move on without him. The 25-year-old certainly has an extreme amount of talent and a diverse skill set, but he has been besieged by injury anytime he begins to build momentum.
It is a situation you hate to see happen to a young fighter, and the true measure will be in how he handles the adversity of it all. Pettis has been a champion in the past, and is one of the only men to defeat current champion Henderson. He has the potential to once again become a world champion but will have to adapt to obstacles that arise along the way.
As things stand at this moment, it is back to the shelf to recover for Pettis. My personal hopes for him are a speedy recovery and a return to the Octagon in early 2013. For that to happen, he is going to need things to start breaking in his favor.
This year has been a trying time, filled with injury and frustration. A healthy Anthony Pettis is one of the most dangerous 155-pound fighters on the planet, but until he can get on top of the injury situation, the climb to the top of the division will be stalled.
For just how long remains to be seen, but if Pettis can regain his footing and get back to firing on all cylinders inside the Octagon, he can make 2013 the type of year that makes the troubles of 2012 nothing more than a memory.
MMA Weekly reports that UFC lightweight contender Anthony Pettis was admitted to a Milwaukee-area hospital after it was discovered that he had a staph infection in his elbow. Pettis’s manager Mike Roberts stated that the infection isn’t expected to be serious, but “Showtime” was hospitalized as a precaution.
Pettis, who had to undergo shoulder surgery earlier this year on the same arm, is still expected to fight Donald Cerrone in potential #1 lightweight contender’s bout in January. Hopefully Pettis’s infection was caught early enough to not cause further complication. Untreated, staph infections can be life threatening. The infections are common among wrestlers and fighters, who spend lots of time on mats which can be petri dishes for bacteria and viruses.
We’ll keep you posted on Pettis’s health as developments are made public. After the jump, check out a healthy Pettis kick ass in a career highlight video.
(Who caught staph from who?)
MMA Weekly reports that UFC lightweight contender Anthony Pettis was admitted to a Milwaukee-area hospital after it was discovered that he had a staph infection in his elbow. Pettis’s manager Mike Roberts stated that the infection isn’t expected to be serious, but “Showtime” was hospitalized as a precaution.
Pettis, who had to undergo shoulder surgery earlier this year on the same arm, is still expected to fight Donald Cerrone in potential #1 lightweight contender’s bout in January. Hopefully Pettis’s infection was caught early enough to not cause further complication. Untreated, staph infections can be life threatening. The infections are common among wrestlers and fighters, who spend lots of time on mats which can be petri dishes for bacteria and viruses.
We’ll keep you posted on Pettis’s health as developments are made public. After the jump, check out a healthy Pettis kick ass in a career highlight video.
The personal animosity between lightweight contenders 
