Anthony Pettis wants to make it clear that he’s back.
Last night (July 7), Pettis took on Michael Chiesa. It was the second bout on the main card of UFC 226. The action took place inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The former UFC lightweight champion returned to form. “Showtime” was able to submit Chiesa in the second round via triangle armbar. Going into the bout, Pettis had gone 2-5 in his last seven outings. He may suddenly find himself back in the top 10 lightweight rankings.
Speaking to the media following UFC 226, Pettis talked about getting his groove back (via MMAJunkie.com):
“I just felt really confident in there again. It feels good to go in there with confidence. … If he took me down, it wasn’t a big issue. We had jiu-jitsu waiting for him, and that’s what showed in the fight. I just got tired of losing. I knew I was better than all these guys I’m losing against, and I just took myself out of my element. I couldn’t focus on the takedowns – it took away from my striking, it took away from my jiu-jitsu. We got away from it, and it shows in my results. I was already annoyed I was the underdog – blue corner again. I’m a former world champ, two times. I’m getting my respect back.”
UFC 226 was headlined by a heavyweight title bout between Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic. Cormier went into the bout as the challenger. In the end, Cormier won via knockout to become a two-division champion.
The co-main event saw a bout that was supposed to provide fireworks. Instead, Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou had a three-round snoozer. Lewis won the bout via unanimous decision.
Do you think Anthony Pettis can be consistent going forward?
