Anthony Pettis’ coach made quite the claim on a incident involving the Diaz brothers and “Showtime.”
This Saturday night (Aug. 17), Pettis will share the Octagon with Nate Diaz. The welterweight grudge match will serve as UFC 241’s co-main event. Pettis has made it clear in the buildup to this fight that he has no love for Diaz and plans on “whooping his ass.” Diaz claimed that during Pettis’ lightweight title run, “Showtime” was “big leaguing”.
Pettis’ Coach Claims Diaz Brothers Tried Jumping ‘Showtime’
Duke Roufus appeared on the latest edition of ESPN’s Ariel Helwani Show. During his appearance, Roufus said that the Diaz Brothers once tried attacking Pettis in a nightclub (via LowKickMMA.com).
“For years Nate has just attacked him,” Roufus said. “Not only verbally, but even in a nightclub, they tried to jump him, him and Nick. It gets to a point where stuff just boils over. I get the perspective of where Anthony is coming from. To me, Anthony reminds me a lot of Oscar De La Hoya or “Sugar” Ray Leonard, he’s that star fighter, he’s got that charisma.”
Roufus continued, comparing the Diaz brothers to boxers who have tried to bully their opponents before fight night.
“A lot of guys just – it’s not even professional, it’s more, these guys are jealous, envy of him,” Roufus said. “It causes a weird energy. Like Fernando Vargas tried to bully De La Hoya, De La Hoya knocked him out. Like Duran tried to do twice against ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard, ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard put it on Duran the second time.
“Like Mayorga tried to do to Oscar De La Hoya. So many guys try to bully Anthony, I love it, because it brings out the best in Anthony. Looking forward to it, sometimes fights are personal, and those are the fun ones if you ask me.”
