Anthony Pettis

Decision Points

Anthony Pettis (born January 27, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Pettis has made a name for himself mainly fighting in his home state of Wisconsin. He is a former fighter for the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), where he was the last ever WEC Lightweight Champion. He has since signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championships, and will be the #1 contender for the UFC Lightweight Championship.

Anthony "Showtime" Pettis made his professional MMA debut in December 2007. He compiled an undefeated record of 7-0 in shows all based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin before debuting with the WEC.

Anthony Pettis is coached by legendary Kickboxer and MMA trainer Duke Roufus and is a member of Roufusport, Milwaukee, WI USA. He trains with fighters such as Pat Barry, Matt Mitrione, Eric Schafer, Alan Belcher, Erik Koch and Ben Askren.

 Anthony Pettis made his WEC debut at WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber II, where he defeated Mike Campbell via triangle choke.

Anthony Pettis was then expected to fight Rob McCullough at WEC 44 on November 18, 2009, but was pulled off the card with an undisclosed injury. Pettis instead fought Bart Palaszewski on December 19, 2009 at WEC 45. Pettis was handed his first loss, as the fight went to the score cards and the judges gave Palszewski the decision win. The crowd and the commentators all believed Pettis had won the fight.

Anthony Pettis rebounded from the loss with a headkick knockout win over Danny Castillo on March 6, 2010 at WEC 47. The build-up to the fight was featured on an episode of the MTV show, World of Jenks.

Anthony Pettis suffered virtually no damage in the bout with Castillo and made a quick return at WEC 48 against Alex Karalexis He won the fight via submission in the second round.

Pettis faced Shane Roller on August 18, 2010 at WEC 50. In his fight with Roller, Pettis surprised many by taking down the wrestler, Roller, multiple times and frustrating Roller continuously with fast paced scrambles. After multiple close submissions Pettis finally cinched a triangle in the closing moments of the fight. This extended him to a three fight win streak and back-to-back wins via triangle choke.

His last WEC fight came as he fought Ben Henderson on December 16, 2010 as the main event of WEC 53 for the WEC Lightweight Championship in what was the last ever fight of the WEC promotion. The fight was closely contested throughout, providing back and forth action, both standing and on the ground. In the fifth round, Pettis showed off a rare NINJA headkick by running up the cage and launching himself towards Henderson, knocking Henderson out momentarily. Anthony Pettis won the fight via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 48-47) to become the final WEC Lightweight Champion. The fight was also awarded as Fight of the Night which won Henderson and Anthony Pettis an extra $10,000.