Tag Archives: Anthony Pettis

UFC Fight Night 120: Anthony Pettis vs. Dustin Poirier Odds and Prediction

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Former UFC Lightweight Anthony Pettis returns to the octagon at the main event of UFC Fight Night 120 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center at Norfolk, Virginia on November 11th, 2017.  The 13th ranked Pettis will face 8th ranked lightweight Dustin Poirier in an attempt to climb back to the top of the 155-pound weight class he used to rule.

Fall From The Top

Pettis’ fall from the top  is well documented. After yielding the UFC lightweight title to Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 185, Pettis lost back to back bouts to Edson Barboza and Eddie Alvarez, forcing him to make a surprise move down to the featherweight division. But after missing weight during an interim featherweight title bout (which he lost badly) against Max Holloway at UFC 206, Pettis decided to return to his natural weight class.

Showtime’s 155-pound return against Jim Miller at UFC 216 last July was successful. Not only did he break out of his slump, he looked like the Anthony Pettis of old in that fight. But Pettis’ recent struggles have pulled him down outside the Top 10 in the rankings. He asked for Poirier in August and with the “Diamond” obliging, the UFC booked the fight right away.

Controversial Fight

Dustin Poirier is coming off a controversial fight at UFC 211 against another former lightweight champion in Eddie Alvarez. That bout ended in a no-contest after Alvarez landed several illegal knees on Poirier. Prior to that fight, Poirier won five of six fights, losing only to Michael Johnson during that stretch.

Poirier has always been one of the gatekeepers of the division. If he can pick up a win though against a former champion like Pettis, his stock will surely soar. Diamond has been fighting in the UFC since 2011 but has never fought for the title. A win over Pettis should put him in striking distance of that long awaited title shot.

Odds and Prediction

Showtime Pettis is the favorite in this bout at -125 while Poirier is the underdog at +105. This is going to be a fun fight between two fighters who can finish the fight on the feet as well as on the ground. Both are excellent strikers who can produce knockouts in the stand up game and come up with creative submission moves on the canvass. Having said that, this fight is likely not going to the scorecards.

Both fighters are evenly matched up but Pettis is more athletic and may have the advantage here because of his creativity. Showtime looked great in his last fight and he seems to have broken out of his slump. Poirier is no easy picking but Pettis should win this fight with his speed and unpredictability.

We’re picking Anthony Pettis to win this fight by stoppage due to strikes.  

UFC 206: Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis Odds and Prediction

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UFC 206 lost its original main event after light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier pulled out of the event with an injury. Good thing UFC 206 already had a marquee featherweight bout as co-main event. That featherweight scrap is now promoted to main event status, and it may even turn out to be a better fight than Cormier vs. Johnson.

Interim Title Bout

With Conor McGregor relinquishing (or getting stripped, whichever you want to believe) the title he won with his 13-second destruction of Jose Aldo last year, the UFC has promoted the Max Holloway – Anthony Pettis showdown to an interim title bout. And for Max Holloway, it’s getting the title shot that he’s earned through the years.

After starting his UFC career with a modest 3-3 record, Holloway has blossomed into one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC’s 145-pound weight class. Since losing to Conor McGregor in 2013, Holloway has racked up an impressive 9-consecutive wins to become the division’s 2nd ranked contender. During this winning run, “Blessed” has beaten Top 10 contenders Cub Swanson, Charles Oliveira and Jeremy Stephens.

Second Lease on Life

Anthony Pettis, meanwhile, has found a new lease on his UFC life at a new weight class. Following three straight losses to Rafael Dos Anjos, Eddie Alvarez and Edson Barboza, “Showtime” bounced back with an impressive 3rd round submission win in featherweight debut against submission master Charles Oliveira. The win immediately put Pettis at #5 in the UFC’s official Featherweight rankings and put him in a position to fight for the title.

The stakes are high for this bout, as the winner will face newly promoted champion Jose Aldo for the undisputed UFC Featherweight title sometime in the near future. And if you’re looking for a dog fight, it can’t get any better than this.

Blessed Over Showtime

Holloway opened as a -185 favorite against Pettis’ +145 when the betting lines for this bout opened. As of the latest UFC 206 odds (12.2.16), Pettis has narrowed the gap at +130 for him and -160 for Holloway. The odds are -160 that this fight goes the distance while it’s +160 that it doesn’t. These make Pettis-Holloway a tough fight to fight to predict, but it’s definitely going to be a exciting striking battle between two of the sport’s premier strikers.

Pettis has excellent Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Taekwondo background. He is good with his hands as he is with his feet. His unique and uncanny striking ability makes him an exciting fighter to watch. Holloway too is adept on his feet. Blessed knows how to pick his shots and when he lands, he does so cleanly and effectively. Just watch his UFC 199 bout against Ricardo Lamas and you can see how good Holloway has become. With both fighters preferring to fight on their feet, this could end up as one of the better fights of the year.

Pettis has a three inch reach advantage while Holloway is an inch taller and four year younger. Offensively, Holloway lands 3.07 more strikes lander per minute but absorbs 1.36 more per 60 seconds. Pettis’ 57% striking defense may be too lax against a surging Holloway. Pettis looked good against Barboza in his featherweight debut but we don’t know what the long term effects of the weight class drop would be. Holloway’s been at featherweight forever and he will be more effective in a five round war. We’re picking Max Holloway to win by unanimous decision or late stoppage.

UFC 206: Anthony Pettis vs. Max Holloway Odds and Preview

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After calling out each other last month via Twitter, Anthony Pettis and Max Holloway are headed for a high level featherweight showdown at UFC 206.

The UFC announced the fight on October 26th:

Moving Down To Featherweight

Pettis is coming off an impressive featherweight debut at UFC on Fox 21 last August, where he submitted submission master Charles Oliveira in three rounds. Prior to that, Showtime lost three fights in a row at lightweight. That losing skid forced the former UFC Lightweight champion to move down in weight and fight at 145 pounds.

The win over Oliveira moved Pettis from #5 in Lightweight to #6 in Featherweight. It also installed him as one of the favorite contenders in the weight class whose title belt has been held hostage by reigning champion, Conor McGregor.

On A Hot Streak

On a nine-fight winning streak, Max Holloway certainly deserves a crack at the featherweight title. Holloway is coming off a decision win over Top 5 featherweight Ricardo Lamas at UFC 199 and has beaten the likes of Jeremy Stephens, Charles Oliveira and Cub Swanson during his winning run. The last time Holloway lost was in 2013 and that was to Conor McGregor.

Holloway would have loved to avenge that loss but McGregor is busy fighting for the Lightweight belt at UFC 205. With interim champion Jose Aldo busy with his squabble with the UFC, ‘Blessed’ said that he was willing to settle for Anthony Pettis instead. Pettis responded to that challenge by alluding to a UFC 205 bout but while that was denied, the two are headed to the co-main event of UFC 206 in Toronto.

Who The Odds Are Picking

Holloway has opened as a slight -160 favorite over Pettis, who comes in at +125.

Blessed’s impressive winning run has certainly left a good impression on him. Also, Holloway is the more experienced guy in this weight class, having fought here throughout his UFC career. Though Pettis proved he can make weight and beat a contender like Oliveira, he remains untested against the regulars of his new weight class.

Betting odds at sites like Bovada are also giving this fight a -245 for going over 2.5 rounds and a +175 for ending in less than 2.5 rounds which means that Pettis and Holloway are likely to go the full route.