Anthony Pettis won’t need surgery on broken foot, eyes late 2019 return
Anthony Pettis suffered another loss when he took on Nate Diaz in the co-main event of UFC 241. To make matters worse early on in the fight he broke his foot. He then had to be carried out of the Octagon.
However, there has been some good news to come from it as Duke Roufus revealed he won’t need surgery. But, Anthony Pettis also never told him about the injury until after the fight.
“He didn’t tell me about the injury at all during the fight because he didn’t want me to stop the fight,” Roufus said to MMA Fighting. “He told me before the fight, ‘Don’t stop this fight, coach.’ And that’s a problem I’m having with my guys now. I stop the fight and now they lie to me and don’t tell me any injuries. Sergio Pettis did the same thing in Milwaukee [against Rob Font], lacerated his cornea in the first round of that fight and he fought the whole fight with one eye.
“So that being said, Anthony broke that foot on that check where he fell down. That’s where he broke the foot and I was wondering the whole fight why he couldn’t just do certain things. I wanted a straight right hand, an elbow even. He couldn’t push off, he couldn’t kick, now I understand what he was doing.”
Now, with no needed surgery, Roufus is hoping his pupil in Anthony Pettis can return later this year. They are targeting the December pay-per-view as a potential date.
But, first, he must recover from his broken foot and see what the UFC has in store for him.
“If healthy, maybe December, Las Vegas,” Roufus said. “Here’s the thing, did he get the win? No. But man, you love to watch this guy fight. There’s something about his skills and most of the guys I train, especially the guys I train full time and a long time, is I try to teach them to be a promoter. That’s why I had a 20-year fight career and until recently I was even offered some fights, and I’m an old guy. Because you know what? I knew what this fight game’s about, entertainment.
“Sometimes you don’t win, but you entertain. There’s a lot of people out there fighting careful, going out there sparring, playing the system, kind of what Nate Diaz talks about. That’s why I really relate to what Nate Diaz talks about. These ‘real fighters.’ Not putting anyone down, I’m just saying the brand of fighting that I instill in a lot of my guys, they’re doing well and having great careers and it’s exciting. … I think that’s what’s exciting about Anthony. You’re waiting, ‘will he pull it out?’ He doesn’t win every time, but man, he sure gives the fans some fights.”
