It wasn’t long before Anthony Pettis found a new home: “Showtime” coming to PFL.
Pettis, the former UFC and WEC lightweight champion, will join the PFL team for his 2021 season and compete at £ 155. Fiberboard announced the news On Wednesday, shortly after the promotional partner ESPN reported this.
Pettis (24-10) fought his UFC contract last Saturday with a unanimous victory over Alex Morono at UFC Fight Night 183.
Pettis spoke openly about his imminent free agency before the fight and announced his departure from the UFC on Tuesday. It didn’t take long for Pettis to sign with PFL, the promotion that operates on a system similar to major team sports, with regular-season fights, playoffs and $ 1 million for the championship winner in each weight class. Pettis thought he would also have a potential contender in the Bellator, as promotion president Scott Coker on Tuesday night expressed interest in MMA Junkie.
Pettis won the WEC lightweight championship in the last event of the promotion, WEC 53, in December 2010, in which his famous “Showtime kick” by Benson Henderson in the last seconds ended the agreement on scorecards in a close fight. In 2013, Pettis sent Henderson to UFC 164 in his hometown of Milwaukee to claim the UFC lightweight belt and lost to Rafael dos Anjos in 2015.
Pettis struggled to regain his footing there, battling from featherweight to welterweight, but finished his UFC race winning two in a row.
No first or first opponent was named for Pettis. The 2021 PFL season is scheduled to begin on April 23 in Las Vegas.