Anthony Pettis looking to get back to top contender status at UFC 144

Over the course of a few months Anthony Pettis went from being next in line for a UFC Lightweight title shot to having to fight his way back into title shot consideration. 

Pettis took the WEC Lightweight crown from Benson Henderson at WEC 53 and was then lined up to face the winner of the January 1, 2011 Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard bout. The problem with that was, there was no winner. The fight finished in a draw and a rematch was booked, a rematch that was delayed by injury.

Pettis decided that he wanted to stay active and opted to not wait for the rematch, instead deciding to face Clay Guida, a fight that he would go on to lose, effectively taking him out of the running for a title shot. 

The former champ would bounce back, winning his next bout, a unanimous decision victory over Jeremy Stephens.  That win led him to a matchup against Joe Lauzon at UFC 144.

Pettis recently spoke about his upcoming bout with Lauzon, “He’s hungry for a finish – Every first round he has he’s looking for a submission or knockout, he’s not one of those guys who comes out to game plan he jumps into the deep water right away.” Pettis then continued, “After what happened to me in the UFC nothings for sure, anything can happen and you don’t know what the outcome is but I think we’re definitely up there – He’s coming off a win over Guillard, I only lost to Guida so it’s going to be close to number-one contender fight.” – for more see MMASucka.com

Further Reading: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson: I’m back into my Pride state of mind