LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 10: Mixed martial artist Anthony Pettis appears during the Grey Goose Le Melon Fruit of Kings party at XS The Nightclub at Encore Las Vegas at on July 10, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for UrbanDaddy)
Anthony “Showtime” Pettis: “I come to fight, people know my style of fighting”
Anthony Pettis interview above
New blood joins the Professional Fighters League (PFL) lightweight roster this 2021 season. Among the new talent, Anthony Pettis (24-10) and Clay Collard (18-8) are two of the fighters recently signed. Pettis and Collard are scheduled to headline PFL 1 on April 23, 2021, in Las Vegas, NV. Also on the fight card will be PFL lightweight champion Natan Schulte verse Marcin Held, plus, two-time PFL featherweight champion, Lance Palmer is set to battle Bubba Jenkins in a highly anticipated featured bout. The prelims will be aired on ESPN+ beginning at 5:30 PM, with the main card following at 9 PM on ESPN 2.
The Milwaukee native sat down with MyMMANews.com to speak about his inaugural PFL season. Pettis explained the numerous reasons why it took less than a day in free agency to sign with the Professional Fighters League. The structured season PFL created resembles traditional team sports and that caught his eye. The PFL holds a two-fight regular reason for every fighter on the roster and uses their accomplishments to seed them according to merit.
“It gives me some structure,” Pettis said. The former UFC lightweight champion is excited to get back to training for his main event bout against Collard. Signing the PFL contract revitalized the highly talented Duke Roufous trained fighter. Pettis likes knowing he won’t have to jump into two, three-week fight camps for a short-notice fight. Showtime knows how many regular-season fights are scheduled (2), plus the potential post-season scheduled bouts, which are quarterfinals, semi-finals, and finals. The humble striker also mentioned the money offered by PFL was too good to pass. “I know when I’m fighting. I can potentially be champion by the end of the year and make a lot of money doing it,”
PFL announced Monday who Anthony Pettis’ opponent is, in addition to them headlining the first event of the PFL 2021 season. The man known throughout the MMA community for his “Showtime Kick” against Benson Henderson will be taking on a dual-sport athlete. Collard is known in boxing for finishing fighters with perfect records. Though Pettis does not have a perfect record, he definitely is entering the bout a favorite.
Pettis’ roots run deep in Milwaukee and at Roufusport MMA, but the former champion acknowledged his head coach’s willingness to cross-train. The Roufusport fighter mentioned he’ll be starting an eight-week fight camp and will be training between Las Vegas and Milwaukee. In the interview, Pettis mentioned he’ll be sitting down with Duke Roufus to create a game plan for his fight camp that will essentially run about 6 months until the end of August if he’s fighting in the championship bout.
As a new member of the PFL organization, Pettis came across as very focused on his goals of becoming the best fighter he can be and obtaining the PFL belt. He believes he has something to prove himself against his new competition. If Pettis captures the PFL title, he will be among a very small percentage to have ever been crowned in more than one of the four major MMA organizations (Pride, UFC, Bellator, PFL).
Pettis is a highly skilled striker who is capable of finishing any opponent inside the cage. No matter the geography of the fight, Pettis can finish foes with kicks, Superman punches, and by submission. Fight fans are in for a treat on Friday, April 23, 2021, as PFL stacked this fight card to be topped off with a cherry of a fighter that is considered one of the most exciting to watch.
Anthony “Showtime” Pettis was one of the biggest free agency signings in all of MMA and at PFL 1 he plans to be himself inside the cage.
