Anthony Pettis Injures Knee; Out Of UFC On Fox 9 Fight With Josh Thomson

Anthony Pettis received some incredibly bad news this summer when a knee injury forced him out of his scheduled UFC 163 main event against UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo.

But in the end, it worked out for Pettis in a big way. He was free to replace an injured T.J. Grant against Ben Henderson in the main event of UFC 164, and capitalized by submitting “Smooth” in the first round to gain the coveted UFC lightweight championship.

Now, it appears he’s suffered a scare of a similar magnitude. Pettis has another knee issue that again won’t require surgery.

UFC Prez Dana White confirmed the situation to Fox Sports’ Mike Chiappetta earlier this morning, but remained positive:

“He’s going to fight,” White said. “For sure.”

Pettis has apparently been in Las Vegas the past couple of days visiting with renowned specialist Dr. Steven Sanders to ensure that his knee is fit to face off with “Punk.” It hasn’t been specified if the injury is related to the one Pettis sustained earlier this year.

Dana’s positive outlook may come a little early, especially considering Pettis’ terrible luck with injuries as of late. He has been up and down, in and out of title fights and main events more than (possibly) any other fighter in the sports history.

As I suspected, the White’s optimism was inaccurate, as UFC officials confirmed the worst via twitter:

BREAKING via @FOXSportsLive: @Showtimepettis will not defend title on 12.14 due to a knee injury. His fight with @THEREALPUNK is postponed.

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) November 11, 2013

So with Pettis sidelined once again with injury, could this be the most sour start to a UFC title reign ever? I hope for a speedy recovery for Pettis, as the new 12-month layoff rule looks to come in to effect. The last thing we need is more ‘interim’ champions in the UFC.