Anthony Pettis Earns Title Shot, Will Wait For UFC on FOX 7 Winner

Anthony "Showtime" Pettis

Anthony Pettis Earned a Title Shot, But Will Have to Wait

Anthony Pettis is right back where he started in the UFC. That is not a bad place to be, either.

Last night at UFC on Fox 6, the lightweight fighter easily put away Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone with a devastating kick to the liver to get the first-round stoppage. The fight also featured Pettis landing a knee by jumping off the fence and the finishing kick scored him the $50,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus. The bout had been viewed by many as a possible number one contender fight, although it was not made official.

After the fight, UFC President Dana White posted this tweet:

Pettis =AMAZING!!!! Ok I'm sold

— Dana White (@danawhite) January 27, 2013

The tweet sparked Ariel Helwani to ask White during a post-event interview if Pettis will be next to fight for the lightweight title against the winner of the UFC on FOX 7 matchup between UFC champion Benson Henderson vs. Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez in April.

“No doubt about it,” White responded. “Is anyone else not sold on him?”

"I think the Melendez fight is pretty set, but (Pettis is) next," White said. "I can't say enough good things about the kid – that was incredible, tonight. Obviously his big, all-time highlight will be the kick off the fence, but tonight was unbelievable. The knee off the fence, it was phenomanal."

Pettis is one of only two fighters to claim a win over Henderson. That fight took place at WEC 53, a fight to name the promotion’s last-ever lightweight champion at promotions final event before folding into the UFC. The bout was a close and exciting affair, but Pettis secured a decision victory over the champion by jumping off the cage and knocking down Henderson with the now legendary “Showtime Kick” at the end of the fifth round.

This is familiar territory for Pettis. He was supposed to fight for the title against the winner of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard at UFC 125, but that fight resulted in one of the most infamous draws in UFC history. The outcome caused “Showtime” to be pushed aside so Edgar and Maynard could fight again. Not wanting to sit on the sidelines, Pettis opted to take a fight against Clay Guida. He lost a decision to Guida and, in turn, lost his title shot.

This time, Pettis does not want to make the same mistake.

“I mean if it’s a guaranteed title shot, I’m waiting,” Pettis stated. “That’s what my goals are, that was my goal this year. If it’s next, then yeah, I’m definitely going to wait, get better and get what’s mine.”

Check out all of our UFC on FOX 6 news.