Anthony Pettis is looking to get back in the win column tonight at UFC 246, following his loss to Nate Diaz last summer. But, recently the Milwaukee star outlined why he believes his loss to Diaz was due to mental errors he made, rather than skill deficiency.
2019 started in impressive fashion for Pettis, as the former lightweight champ bombed out Stephen Thompson in March. It was a head-turning victory for “Showtime”, not only because it was a highlight reel finish, but because it was the welterweight debut of Pettis.
As a result of that victory, Pettis was booked to fight Diaz in another welterweight fight in August. “Showtime” was unable to capitalize on his momentum, however, as he lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Well, in advance of his bout tonight with Diego Ferreira, Pettis had this to say about his loss to Diaz (quotes via MMA Junkie):
“I’m sitting in the back about to fight, and that happens,” Pettis said. “It’s chaos. It just taught me. Wins and losses – people are going to judge me no matter what. All it takes is two or three wins for me to be right back on top. … I broke my foot. I don’t kick checks. That’s not something I do. I kicked a check from Nate Diaz, and I broke my foot. It was just a mental error, and I saw it (afterward).
“You look at the ‘Wonderboy’ fight. I got my nose broke, but I stayed so true to my gameplan. You saw my forward pressure, hands high, low kick, low kick, low kick. In the Diaz fight, I’m switching stances, throwing haymakers. It was a mental loss.”]
It’s an interesting take on the fight, and there was some pretty wild exchanges in the bout. Diaz supporters, however, might argue the result was more so tied to the Stockton star’s game plan and abilities.
Tonight will mark the first time Pettis has fought at lightweight since October, 2018, when he lost to Tony Ferguson via TKO (corner stoppage). While discussing his decision to return to 155, Pettis said this:
“The training camps, the mindset, and just the energy that I had in these fights? Oh, it felt so good. The reason I went back to 155 is my walk-around weight dropped about 12 to 15 pounds, so I was ready to start cutting down again.”
It will be interesting to see how Pettis (22-9) looks tonight. Ferreira (16-2) isn’t a big star yet, but the Brazilian has been on a roll lately and has won five in a row.
UFC 246 will be hosted by the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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