The coronavirus pandemic has caused Anthony Pettis to look at his career with new perspective, and he hopes it pays off against Donald Cerrone at UFC 249.
Pettis (22-10 MMA, 9-9 UFC), like most of the world, has been living in quarantine since mid-March due to the global COVID-19 crisis. The lockdown made him realize that, even as a former UFC champion, he hadn’t been effectively managing his time both from a mental and training perspective.
The results haven’t been kind to “Showtime” since losing the UFC lightweight title in 2015. He’s 4-8 in his past 12 fights, albeit against a string of high-level competition. That’s not a valid excuse to Pettis, though, and he wants to turn it around and be more consistent.
Titles and rankings mean nothing to him these days. Winning is the sole objective.
“I think I need to get my confidence back. That’s what I’m focusing on now,” Pettis told reporters during Thursday’s UFC 249 virtual media day. “This quarantine made me readjust and rethink. Even in practice I’m better than most of the guys I train with. It’s just putting it together in the octagon in the moments that matter. It’s just putting together the rounds.”
For Pettis, there’s no better scenario to turn the tide than what UFC 249 offers. He already owns a first-round knockout win over Cerrone (36-14 MMA, 23-11 UFC) from their first meeting in January 2013, and the pair have formed a friendship and trained together since. There’s familiarity involved, and Pettis said it all adds up to him having the upper hand on fight night.
“When you beat somebody, it’s always there in the back of their head,” Pettis said. “No matter what, I don’t care how many fights you have past that, a loss is a loss. I feel I got the mental advantage already. I know his weaknesses; he knows my weaknesses. It’s going to be who can exploit it, who is in better shape and who wants it more.”
The welterweight matchup headlines the UFC 249 prelims, which air on ESPN and ESPN+ prior to the pay-per-view main card at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. Pettis has bounced between weight classes in recent years, and after fighting at lightweight in a submission loss to Diego Ferreira at UFC 246 in January, he’s back up to 170 pounds due to the short-notice nature of the fight.
Pettis said he’s feeling at his best, despite only having 21 days’ notice. He thinks he can thrive under these circumstances and hopes to prove it with a vintage effort.
“I’m in one of them spots where I took risks,” Pettis said. “I won the world title at 155 pounds, I fought for the title at 145 pounds, and I jumped up to 170 pounds. I’m kind of all over the place with my fights. I’m trying to find a home. Once I find a home, once I find a home where I’m comfortable – I think 170.
“‘Cowboy’ isn’t going to go in there wrestling, but we’ll see. I doubt it, though. I doubt he’s going to try to go in there and put me down. It’s a striking match the world wants to see, and that’s what I’m excited about.”
