Sergio Pettis Drops To Flyweight, Meets Ryan Benoit At UFC 185
It looks as if the flashy, and highly skilled Pettis brothers will compete on the same card once again. The two both recently fought at December 6’s UFC 181 with, Anthony “Showtime” Pettis defending his lightweight title against Gilbert Melendez and younger brother Sergio Pettis earning a “Fight of the Night” award for his victory over Matt Hobar.
It was recently announced that “Showtime” would be headlining UFC 185 on March 14, 2015 in Dallas, Texas, looking to defend his title for the second time against surging Brazilian Rafael dos Anjos. Today (January 13, 2015) UFC officials announced the champion’s younger brother would be on the same card, taking on Ryan Benoit, which was also confirmed by MMAJunkie.
After his UFC 181 win, Pettis discussed his interest in dropping down to the flyweight division, and it looks as if he got his wish as this bout against Benoit will be taking place in the 125 pound division. It has not been made clear where exactly this bout will take place on the card.
The younger Pettis currently boasts a 3-1 record in the UFC, but all of those bouts were fought at bantamweight. Despite seeing success so far in his UFC career competing in the 135 pound division, Pettis believes he will fare better against the flyweights, and this will not be his first time at that weight.
Before signing with the UFC, Pettis was the RFA flyweight champion, but made the jump up just before signing with the UFC.
His opponent, Benoit, is also a UFC new comer. Winning five of six bouts including a perfect 4-0 record with Legacy FC, Benoit made his UFC in November 2013 at the The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 18 finale, losing a short notice bout to Josh Sampo. Since then, he has been on the shelf nursing an injury and will be looking to make a name for himself against Pettis, returning from a 16-month layoff.
Check out what UFC 185 currently looks like below:
- Anthony Pettis vs. Rafael dos Anjos
- Roy Nelson vs. Alistair Overeem
- Chris Cariaso vs. Henry Cejudo
- Ryan Benoit vs. Sergio Pettis
Stay tuned to LowKickMMA for updates as we move closer to UFC 185.
