Anthony Pettis Will Fight, Not Wait for UFC Title Shot
by Nate Wilcox on Jan 8, 2011 3:30 PM EST
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WEC champ Anthony Pettis experienced a roller coaster at UFC 125. He'd been promised an immediate title shot against the winner of Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard. When that fight was ruled a draw Pettis was initially reassured that he would get the next crack at the champ Frankie Edgar, but then Dana White changed his mind and awarded Maynard a rematch.
For a while it was up in the air whether or not Pettis would wait for his title shot or risk it all in a fight against a top UFC contender. Now it's been decided, per MMA Weekly:
Mike Roberts of MMA Inc., Pettis' management company, told MMAWeekly.com on Friday that Pettis would be returning to the cage instead of sitting out for nearly a year to wait for a title shot.
"Anthony was obviously disappointed in not getting the title shot, but he also understands why Dana made that decision," Roberts said. "After consulting with Anthony and Duke Roufus, we collectively decided that it would be in Anthony's best interest to take a fight in the meantime.
"A 10-month or possible year layoff was just too long. We believe with a win against a top lightweight contender Anthony will still get the title shot later in the year".
Dave Meltzer talks to Pettis about some of the possibilities:
"I only want to face guys at the top - George Sotiropoulos, Clay Guida, Jim Miller, [Sean] Sherk, anybody that makes sense," said Pettis. "I don't want to fight someone who isn't high level. If I fight, I think I've earned fighting the best guys."
This is the best outcome. Sitting on the shelf does terrible things to fighters, particularly very young fighters like Pettis who have a lot of momentum behind them. Sure he's taking a big risk by facing anyone of the contenders in the murderer's row that is the UFC lightweight division, but the bigger risk would be getting rusty and losing his motivation while enduring a lengthy hiatus.
WEC champs Carlos Condit and Steve Cantwell certainly didn't get immediate UFC title shots when their divisions were absorbed into the UFC. Pettis, due to his youth and rapid development might yet prove to be a UFC champion, but at this point he's an untested proposition in the UFC.
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Pettis/Guida would be absolutely awesome.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
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by Scott C. Broussard on Jan 8, 2011 3:32 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
I know a guy who agrees:
http://www.cagesideseats.com/2011/1/8/1922939/making-the-case-for-anthony-pettis-vs-clay-guida
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by Kaleb Kelchner on Jan 8, 2011 3:38 PM EST up reply actions
Counterpoint
Making the Case for Miller vs. Pettis
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Awesomely horrible. Guida would bounce around and shoot for takedown after takedown whilst throwing wild punches that hit nothing but air. Pettis would constantly be backing up looking for an opportunity to nail him with a fancy striking move OR would constantly be taken down
He has faced, and taken down in succession
a D1 wrestler and a phenomenal wrest-grappler. Guida had trouble getting in Gomi’s range to take him down. Pettis is longer and faster, and I think it would be a great matchup to give Pettis some MORE credibility. Even though i don’t think he needs it.
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by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 3:43 PM EST up reply actions
thank you good sir
I knew from the start people would start acting like pettis has never faced a decent wrestler or has unknown TD defense or a threatening guard.
Pettis trainshis wrestling with ben askren ffs and it has shown from his fight with roller and bendo that he can handle himself grappling wise. He is far from invinceble but he does know what to do on the ground.
Regardless if his opponent is from the big bad UFC.
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by The Blackula on Jan 8, 2011 4:08 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
he does not currently train w/ Ben.
he a Rufus said they would train w/ Ben if they had the 8-10 months off. this, however, is not relevent because the kid can already hang w/ wrestlers.
by F'n Clownshoes on Jan 9, 2011 7:52 AM EST up reply actions
Clay will probably utilize a different strategy
Pettis and Gomi are very different fighters.
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Good fight,
but hard fight for Pettis, he doesn’t have the speed or jab that has been used to defeat Sherk, and Sherk has the quick paced wrestling and TD’s that Bendo and Roller lacked.
I like Miller the best though. Guida pissed me the fuck off in his last fight.
I would say Pettis vs. Florian
Florian beat Guida. He is a guy I think who can trouble Edgar if Edgar beats Maynard. He is a good test for Pettis too
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by SheepleBuster on Jan 8, 2011 5:01 PM EST up reply actions
I am afraid about Guida just hump him for 3 rounds. If it was a 5 rounder, I'd be
more comfortable. I guess Pettis showed he can hang with these guys and if he wants the shot, he needs to beat guys like Guida.
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by SheepleBuster on Jan 8, 2011 5:13 PM EST up reply actions
Florian is coming off of a loss
They have to give him somebody else who can be promoted to no. 1 contender also
agreed 100%
Florian is the next highest rated Lightweight in the UFC after Frankie and Gray. If Zuffa claims that Pettis is worthy of a shot this will be the true litmus test. I am also curious why anyone would rather see Guida fight Pettis over such guys like G-Sot, Miller, and Florian.
by F'n Clownshoes on Jan 9, 2011 7:57 AM EST up reply actions
I said this in the Fight for Troops thread
but the winner of Guillard/ Dunham would be perfect for Pettis. They would most certainly be a viable contender. Hell, Guillard would deserve the shot just beating Dunham because of his recent record.
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why?
New England Patriots: We don't rebuild, we reload
by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 3:35 PM EST up reply actions
Because he hasn’t beat one single person in the UFC. He has the WEC belt, what does that mean, all the lightweights who couldn’t cut it in the UFC? Ya good job, you beat the paper champ.
I've been trying to argue that that IS NOT the point
they needed to give the WEC belt credibility by establishing that the winner would face off for the UFC belt.
Plus, the UFC needs to cash on the kick seen ’round the world.
Also, these guys aren’t LWs who couldn’t cut it in the UFC. The WEC was a sister org, but signed these younger prospects first. Its not like they were losing in the UFC and got demoted.
New England Patriots: We don't rebuild, we reload
by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 4:12 PM EST up reply actions
Also
we need to see how the WEC lw’s perform against the UFC lw’s before we diminish any credibility they have. For all we know, Cerrone Bendo and Pettis could all go on tears. We just don’t know at this point.
New England Patriots: We don't rebuild, we reload
by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 4:15 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
And we can do that by not handing out title shots to a guy who has never fought in the UFC and give them to the guys who have earned them like Miller, Soto, etc. They can have a chance to prove themselves in the big show.
His last four fights:
3 finishes (only one not finished was a title fight) sub of the night, KO of the night, fight of the night for the title. He’s faced an undefeated champ and a 3 time all american wrestler who had won his last three, two by submission, and his fight after by submission.
He fucking EARNED that shit dude. there was no handing out.
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by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 4:47 PM EST up reply actions
Oh please
If he did the exact same thing, beating the same fighter, but under the UFC banner, no way would you be saying he earned anything but a better opponent than Shane Roller.
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those aren't the circumstances or reality
you can spin it any way you desire, but the matter of fact is that he had a shot at the UFC title on the line- a put up or shut up situation- and he came through.
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by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 4:57 PM EST up reply actions
That's all well and good
And congrats to him for beating the man put in front of him. It still doesn’t give his title shot any more merit. Pettis is a great talent with a tremendous upside, but just a little over 12 months ago he lost a split decision to Bart Palaszewski.
Is he a title contender? Yes, because the UFC has arbitrarily decided to make him so. That’s not the debate and not a real answer to the question as to whether or not said contention is warranted.
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There's no arbitrary nature at all
They named the fight a #1 contender fight, and he won.
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by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 5:11 PM EST up reply actions
Sure it's arbitrary
Why is that fight the number 1 contender fight? Because Pettis and Henderson were tearing it up against top competition and tearing through the 155lbs ranks? That can’t be it because that never happened.
Was it based on some mathematical formula based on ranking, strength of competition, etc…? No.
It was arbitrary. Anthony Pettis and Ben Henderson were fortunate enough to be in the right fight at the right time to earn the right to unfairly leap frog their peers to the biggest fight of their lives.
It happened, I accept that, but don’t blow smoke up my ass and tell me it was somehow deserved or earned. Call it what it is, Anthony Pettis won the lottery.
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I thought Bendo was undefeated, but he actually had one loss before.
my b.
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by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 4:57 PM EST up reply actions
We can make an educated guess
I get the appeal of having Pettis fight for a title, but realistically past Maynard, you have at least two fighters in the UFC who are clearly more deserving.
As for the WEC LW title, I’ve said this before, you can put a skirt on a poodle, doesn’t make it a ballerina, you can put a shiny belt around the waist of Anthony Pettis, doesn’t make him a LW title contender.
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Actually, it does. Because he is, as much as you and others don't like it.
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by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 4:54 PM EST up reply actions
If fedor would have came to the UFC instead of strikeforce he shouldn’t have got a shot at the belt either cause he never beat anyone in the UFC right?
by 775assassin on Jan 8, 2011 5:50 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Are you really comparing Fedor Emeliananko to Anthony Pettis? Really?
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No, not at all I may be dumb but I’m not a fucking moron, I’m just saying they have the same amount of wins in the UFC. It’s stupid to say someone doesn’t deserve a title shot because they haven’t won in the UFC.
by 775assassin on Jan 8, 2011 6:14 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Agreed
Beating a champ and taking his title in spectacular fashion should sideline him for years to come…?
by NextAndersonSilva on Jan 8, 2011 3:38 PM EST up reply actions
They had every reasons to do it. “UFC champ vs WEC champ”, tell me this doesn’t sound good? This is so easy to sell, with the kick and all, they might have lost their only chance to promote this right.
They see me rollin...
yeah this
people getting their panties in a twist about him getting a title shot need to relax. The UFC had a great opportunity with Pettis coming off the Showtime kick. If it turned out he wasn’t in Frankie’s class, that’d be settled in the fight and he could have worked his way back up again.
I’m glad he’s fighting in the interim, but I would have been fine with him fighting for the belt.
Tatum: I think he's a good man. I like him. I got nothing against him, but I'm definitely gonna make orphans of his children.
by Dave Strummer on Jan 8, 2011 4:54 PM EST up reply actions
They said the winner of the fight gets a shot before anyone saw this miracle kick. Even if either man got a 1st round KO I still would think this shot is undeserved. The lightweight division was already a shark tank full of fringe contenders before the UFC absolved the WEC, why do these guys get a free pass by all of them, many of which have racked up nice win streaks IN the UFC.
Maybe it’s undeserved, but they were right to do it. Business wise it’s better for all the reasons stated above. Also at the time, Franky couldn’t draw (I hope it changed a bit with his last fight), so they really had to do something drastic, like setting up some kind of pseudo superfight, unifying belts (real belts, no interim BS belts). Anyway it’s not happening…If he wins against a top contender he will have earned his shot, if he loses it’s over.
They see me rollin...
Yeah I think i’m just tired of seeing all these matches being made purely from a business point of view. This guy draws, so lets put him against a guy with a big name or matches up bad stylistically so that we can get what want and keep the draws winning. Feel bad for the people that the UFC don’t consider draws or make them enough money.
Guida or Sherk are the best match-ups IMO.
Both are tough but winnable fights. I’m more partial to Sherk though as he’s a former champion and I’m of the opinion that Guida is never going to amount to anything more than a gatekeeper in the division.
OHHHHH! OH MY GOODNESS DID YOU SEE THAT?! He ran up the wall like a ninja and landed a high kick! Unbelievable! I've never seen anything like that, it's like something out of a movie!
I don't know.
Guida is looking pretty good now. I think the new camp has done wonders for him and Guillard. I dont think we should be counting Guida out of title contention because of his past. I think Guida vs Sherk would be awesome. Give Pettis George Sotiropoulos.
Eugh, no thank you.
OHHHHH! OH MY GOODNESS DID YOU SEE THAT?! He ran up the wall like a ninja and landed a high kick! Unbelievable! I've never seen anything like that, it's like something out of a movie!
by lowellthehammer on Jan 8, 2011 3:50 PM EST up reply actions
Really? Guida is not a top fighter, and he never will be. Don’t buy the UFC hype job just because he’s a popular fighter with a few recent wins.
by Horselover Fat on Jan 8, 2011 6:04 PM EST up reply actions
He should fight Sherk on whatever free TV card the UFC is gonna give us to counterprogram the SF Grand Prix
I hate to be "That Guy", but Edgar/Maynard II wasn’t close to the best fight I’ve ever seen…
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Smart
Good, smart decision, IMO. I think fighting, and thus not waiting, puts him in even better graces with the ufc. Even if he loses, unless utterly dominated, he won’t fall that far down the ladder. With the LW division being what it is, this shows what kind of competitor Pettis is. I have to think, no matter win/lose/draw next fight, this can only help the young man.
Like the winner of Dunham/Guillard for Pettis next. Winner, obviously Pettis for sure, gets shot
I wouldn’t say Pettis is for sure the winner of that fight. Guillard has more power and is faster, and Dunham is a far better grappler. It would be a tremendous test either way
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by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 3:49 PM EST up reply actions
haha yeah I got that
I agree that Dunham would need another win or two to earn the shot, but the winner of Guillard/ Pettis, if that were the outcome, would have earned the shot. Guillard has a pretty impressive record in his last few.
New England Patriots: We don't rebuild, we reload
by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 3:56 PM EST up reply actions
Would
Melvin jump ahead of Soto if he beat Pettis? Or ahead of Miller? Performance plays a big factor in theoretical Pettis fight, but you think Melvin would jump ahead of those 2 for next title fight were he to beat Pettis?
Sidenote: been a longtime fan of Melvin, like how he’s “matured”, would love to see him get a shot.
I think that it depends on timing
Melvin or Pettis would probably get the shot if it were in the US. I think that the UFC is storing Sot with the hopes that they can put the title on the line in Australia.
Miller needs to start finishing people to get his shot, and doing as much marketing as possible. Melvin’s career highlights, and Pettis’s looks and familiarity in his Life of Jenks video make them easier to sell.
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by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 4:06 PM EST up reply actions
yup
lightweight is like welterweight and LHW- such a competitive division that you could make the argument for a lot of different fighters at any given time
New England Patriots: We don't rebuild, we reload
by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 4:13 PM EST up reply actions
Didn't mean...
For it to read that pettis would for sure win. Mean IF pettis won then he’d for sure get shot(Obviously). Dunham or Melvin would have to maybe fight once more for a title shot.
Risky move
It makes sense though and shows Pettis is one hell of a fighter
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by II SMASH II on Jan 8, 2011 3:54 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Risky move
It makes sense though and shows Pettis is one hell of a fighter
"One of the scariest people on this planet. If I was his cellmate in prison and he desired to rape me, I'd probably just hang myself."-Seph Smith
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by II SMASH II on Jan 8, 2011 3:55 PM EST via mobile reply actions
this is the best choice for Pettis
he is also i think 22 years old. the future is very bright for him.
Good Choice
Glad to see we won’t have another Rashad Evans sit out to deal with here.
by alibabba on Jan 8, 2011 4:00 PM EST via mobile reply actions
agreed
but Evans made the right decision. He knows that he’s an awful matchup for Shogun, especially coming off a third knee surgery. Rua won’t hold the title for long.
Plus, Evans is much older. Pettis has so many years left in the sport that a loss won’t really matter in the long run.
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by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 4:08 PM EST up reply actions
i'd rather have pettis get fucked then maynard get fucked
pettis really doesnt deserve a title shot anyway
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It's a tough choice, yes you want to stay active but after seeing the Grispi situation
it would be hard not to want to wait.If I’m in Pettis’ shoes there are 3 guys that I definitely dont want to face. Jim Miller, George Sotiropoulos, or Evan Dunham.I’d be looking at Sherk or Guida.
by bigdmmafan on Jan 8, 2011 4:07 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
he should face whoever the ufc gives him.
Derailing a proven ufc fighter will go a long way in proving to the wec haters that pettis is legit and deserving title contender.
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by The Blackula on Jan 8, 2011 4:14 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Not this:)
Unless Pettis gets dominated, I think he’ll only benefit from taking another fight. He’ll grow as a fighter, the ufc will “respect” his decision not to wait(at least I think they would), he’d lose to a much bigger name than Grispi did, IF he were to lose.
Again, unless he gets absolutely pounced, a la grispi, I don’t see how this hurts his career. Age is on his side.
Agree that I’d try to avoid those 3 fighters, though I’d like to see him fight Dunham/Guillard winner.
Forget Grispi
Forget title shots, forget wanting to show he’s a fighter or whatever else…
Anthony Pettis wants to fight because he doesn’t want to sit for 12 months without a pay day.
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if you told a room full of a hundred world champion fighters 99 were gonna die in the ring in their next fight.
Everyone of them would be thinking "those poor bastards ".
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by the-gentle-way on Jan 8, 2011 4:58 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 2 recs
i agree with him fighting Guida
even if he loses, he’s still young, and will come back better
Regardless of who he fights
I want to see this be a five round fight. Fighting a top contender and giving his opponent five rounds to prepare for a title fight is the best outcome for the future title picture. Props to Pettis for taking this risk.
This is a no-brainer
I highly doubt he can financially afford to not receive any fighting paychecks for over a year (despite whatever money his bar is bringing in)
"You should work for 15 minutes to knock your opponent out, submit him, or improve your position to give yourself the best chance of doing either." - Dan Hardy
haha i love how we're all talking about matchups and sport
and the man who makes the most sense is talking about cents. So true.
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by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 4:30 PM EST up reply actions
Pettis vs Florian
this would be a great fight for Pettis and an exciting fight to watch.
I remember when a guy gunning for a ufc title shot decided to fight instead of wait
and he got exposed for being vastly overrated.
being wec champ in a weak division doesn’t eaen him the right to top fighters, let alone a title shot.
by Discman2 on Jan 8, 2011 4:59 PM EST via mobile reply actions
The right to fight top fighters?
Excuse me?
Are you suggesting it’s beneath the fighters in the UFC’s LW division to fight Anthony Pettis?
I agree a title shot is unwarranted, but this comment is just ignorant.
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I say Sotiropolus as long as he wins next month, and if not then Dunham assuming he wins. The winner of Pettis v Soto/Dunham would make a perfect number 1 contender.
They should schedule it at the same time as the Maynard v Edgar rematch.
Dunham just lost to Sherk
Guillard deserves it more if he wins, if not then Miller/ Sot deserve it the most, besides Pettis
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by Austin Martin on Jan 8, 2011 5:10 PM EST up reply actions
Dana White has said that he thought Dunham won that fight, and UFC is treating him like he did win that fight (he was originally booked against KenFlo). Pretty much 3 people think Sherk won that fight, 1 of them is Sherk, and 2 were Judges.
I scored it for sherk live
kinda anyway. I rewatched it and couldn’t find a reason to not give it to Dunham.
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by Urijah Bieber on Jan 8, 2011 5:53 PM EST up reply actions
The second was very, very debatable.
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by Derek Suboticki on Jan 8, 2011 6:18 PM EST up reply actions
Pulling a rashad
only haters say this kinda stuff. He was offered a shot to fight the champion, why should he be questioned for fighting anyone else?
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by Urijah Bieber on Jan 8, 2011 5:52 PM EST up reply actions
when you google "the rashad brand" the very first image ;
Thought I’d share
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by Urijah Bieber on Jan 8, 2011 6:04 PM EST up reply actions
Who questioned him?
I think Rashad questioned himself by refusing to fight anyone else except Shogun due to the fear of losing his title shot. If he is the number one contender than why would he question his ability of beating someone he believes he is superior to in talent and athletisicm? I believe he is only hurting himself in the long run by waiting around, but thats just my opinion.
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by MrTechnique420 on Jan 8, 2011 6:21 PM EST up reply actions
Yea sure
If I get offered a chance to fight the champion, I am fighting the damn champion.
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Don't eat B.L.T. sammaches
by Urijah Bieber on Jan 8, 2011 6:28 PM EST up reply actions
Pettis did
He could wait around for the winner of Maygard. Instead he chose to not wait around in an even more stacked division than LHW. If I get offered a chance to fight the champion only to find out I have to must wait and not work for a year? No thank you, i’ll take my chances because i’m capable enough to do so.
I'm Don Frye and you're not - Don Frye
by MrTechnique420 on Jan 8, 2011 6:57 PM EST up reply actions
This is a different situation
Evans was the dude, he just had to wait on a knee. Pettis isn’t guaranteed the shot anymore as far as I know. Has Dana said unequivocally “you still got next”?
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by Urijah Bieber on Jan 8, 2011 7:18 PM EST up reply actions
Somewhat different
Well based on the article one can only assume that Dana gave him the cliche “Good news and bad news” bullshit.
Good news saying he will still get a shot with the bad news being he must wait an estimated year for it.
I'm Don Frye and you're not - Don Frye
by MrTechnique420 on Jan 8, 2011 8:04 PM EST up reply actions
Which is bogus anyway
Maynard and Frankie should be fighting in 3-4 months. No one has any broken hands or anything right? At most they need to recover for a month then have three months to prepare. Then after that 3-4 months for Pettis. So at most it should be 6-8 months, not 10-12.
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by Urijah Bieber on Jan 8, 2011 8:19 PM EST up reply actions
They should be
even still, 6-8 of no cage time can halt your momemtum, then again, so can a loss.
I'm Don Frye and you're not - Don Frye
by MrTechnique420 on Jan 8, 2011 8:58 PM EST up reply actions
Rashad is
in a version different position regarding age, wealth and credentials.
Frankly, I think both Rashad and Pettis made the right decisions…
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by The American Ronin on Jan 9, 2011 12:41 AM EST up reply actions
this kind of sucks, I really wanted to see Showtime ride the momentum of that performance into a title shot
but if he loses, he loses. Will they still unify the titles?
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Don't eat B.L.T. sammaches
Look at it this way.
Dude wants to fight the best, so he’s going to have to fight these guys anyway, with or without a title. I think staying active is the best for him, especially with his first fight in the UFC. Having a title fight as your first fight in the UFC sucks.
I’m glad he’s doing the right thing. I’m in the camp who thinks he should never have gotten the title shot in the first place, so fighting someone legit will definitely help his case. It would be fun to see him beat Guida, just because I dislike Guida and find it silly how some are thinking he’s now a potential title candidate (delusion). This whole situation sucks for Miller, G-Sot, and Dunham.
I think this is great. Pettis has a positive attitude about it and wants the other fights. He needs to fight someone else to give himself credibility as a contender, he needs to stay busy, and I think he’s kind of a draw now so he’d be great to have anywhere on a card (I’d watch it for sure, as would most of my girlfriends). I like him a lot and was worried that he was not quite ready for a title shot (he may be but it’s hard to tell). As far as deserving it, I guess he did because it was promised to him but he doesn’t seem bitter about not getting it so, whatever. I really hope he wins whatever fight he gets and I hope he continues to grow as a fighter and get more experience to make him an even stronger contender.
Great to see he’s decided to stay active. It shows he’s got a good attitude. And I honestly think in the big picture, a year layoff waiting for a title shot could do more damage than a potential loss against a UFC contender. The last thing a developing young fighter needs is ringrust and stagnation in his career.
It doesn't matter how many people I've killed, what's important is how I get along with those that are still alive.
by Peter Nathaniel Fury on Jan 8, 2011 6:52 PM EST reply actions
That’s good. The two guys that were promised title shots, then denied. Fitting.
And then God created Saturn... and he liked it, so he put a ring on it.
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I like this kid. A lot.
He’s smart. He knows that the Showtime Kick builds his brand, but sitting on the sidelines (even if waiting for a title shot) diminishes it. He’s saying the right things. “I want to fight. I want to fight the top guys.” He knows d-nozzles like many of you are questioning the legitimacy of a title shot he never asked for (but earned based on the promises of a man who was not his employer) and he’s doing both what’s best for him (by keeping himself in the public eye) and what builds his name as a contender and eventual PPV main eventer by getting another legit win under his belt. Plus, he’s young, ever-improving, a good (not great) interview, and naturally charismatic. Showtime might not be UFC LW champ by the end of 2011, but if he keeps doing the things he’s doing he’ll be a star by the end of 2012.
by Autotuned Genki Sudo on Jan 8, 2011 8:23 PM EST reply actions
Go for it man.....
I don’t think Pettis has any kind of huge leaps to make or spots to get tons better. If he can’t beat Clay Guida now, he can’t win a title fight. He knows that, he’s serious about being the best, and he’s willing to do or die. I love it.
What happens to WEC belt if Pettis loses?
So what happens if Pettis loses his next bout? Guida or whoever become new WEC champ? I imagine it would be a non-title bout, but then you’re still in an awkward spot, as Pettis holds his belt, but is a loser and the WEC and UFC belts need to still be unified…
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