Anthony Pettis Joins Cain Velasquez In Successful Surgery Club
UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis had more bad news for the MMA world when it was announced that he had to withdraw from his UFC on Fox 9 headlining bout against Josh Thomson.
And it just kept getting worse.
News came that Pettis would require surgery for a torn PCL, sidelining him for at least 6-8 months. It was the second title fight that he withdrew from this year due to a knee injury. The first came prior to his UFC 163 featherweight title bout against Jose Aldo, but “Showtime” was able to miraculously heal up fast enough to face Benson Henderson, defeating him for the 155-pound crown only 28 days later.
Pettis’ flashy style based on his Taekwondo background may be the cause for his knee troubles, something that Thomson focused on in a recent interview. Regardless, Pettis went under the knife yesterday and posted a post-surgery photo on his Instagram account, joining UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez as the second titleholder to undergo successful surgery this week:
The surgery may have gone well, but the whole situation doesn’t bode well for Pettis. If he is constantly puling out of big name fights with knee troubles he’s going to be impossible to book. Injuries have haunted him throughout his relatively short UFC tenure and have definitely robbed him of some potentially great fights.
He still has a lot to prove.
Many felt that Pettis was gifted a decision against Jeremy Stephens and was exposed against Clay Guida, but he silenced his critics by defeating Henderson a second time. Now, unfortunately, Pettis’ best weapons may be becoming his worst enemy.
For now, Pettis will have to heal up and get back on track as soon as possible. He’ll hopefully be available to defend the belt towards the end of next year, but even that may be optimistic.
Meanwhile, Thomson will face Henderson for the number one contender spot at UFC on Fox 10 on January 25. Should it be for the interim title with “Showtime” sidelined for an indefinite period of time?
