Pettis chasing gold, and thrills
For Anthony Pettis, inventor of what is perhaps mixed martial arts’ single most memorable, creative, gravity-defying strike, the ultimate highlight has yet to be created. At least that’s what he says. The man goes by “Showtime” after all, so what else would he be looking forward to other than making the sports world’s collective jaw drop once again? Of course he wants to top it.
What better time to do it than a title fight? What better place to do it than home? Pettis grew up here, visited the Bradley Center too many times to count, to watch Milwaukee Bucks games and other attractions, but now he’s it, the main event, the big show.
As he rolls around the city in the last days leading up to his UFC 164 rematch against lightweight champion Benson Henderson, he sees his image around town, but “local boy made good” isn’t quite good enough, not for Pettis or his ambition. Of course he wants to win, but deep down, he wants to win big. Flashy. Bold.
“Honestly, I think I can top the ‘Showtime Kick,’” he told FOX Sports. “The ‘Showtime Kick’ is actually pretty basic. There’s a lot of moves in my arsenal that most fans don’t even know about. I have some crazy stuff. When you add spinning and jumping into it, it’s definitely way crazier. And way higher risk.”
He throws in that last part as an addendum, perhaps as much as for what is says about his opponent as what it says about him.
Pettis isn’t a trash-talker, not in the strict sense of the phrase. But he is candid in his opinions and assessments even when they might make someone else look bad. And here’s the thing about his views on Henderson as a fighter: he respects him. He’ll even go so far as to classify him as “amazing.” But he can also separate Henderson from the style he uses, and praise one while criticizing the other.
In his mind, Henderson has been excellent at molding his style to the scoring criteria used by judges. He throws volume with his strikes. He scores frequent takedowns. He is occasionally dominant from the top position. But that’s where it ends. Henderson has been to a decision in eight straight fights, including his last loss, the one to Pettis at WEC 53 back in Dec. 2010.
“He’s a point fighter,” Pettis said. “One-hundred percent. Ben’s a guy that if you notice the pace he keeps, it’s one where he knows he’s going to fight five rounds. In the first, he doesn’t exert himself or go too crazy. Which is smart. But he’s a point fighter. He fights to win on the judges’ scorecards. Look at the Nate Diaz fight. He dominated the fight but he never took the chance to finish the guy. He just kept doing what he was doing for five rounds.”
Pettis doesn’t blame him for this per se. It’s obvious, he says, that other people do the same thing. It’s part of the sport, yet a difference in philosophy for two lightweights whose names seem to be inextricably linked together.
Poetically, they make perfect rivals. Henderson is quiet and mellow, with long hair and a style anchored in wrestling. Pettis is brash and fast-talking, with always perfectly groomed hair and a base in striking. Fight one was in Henderson’s hometown; fight two is in Pettis’. And so it goes.
But Pettis’ criticism of Henderson’s style comes from a surprising place; from personal experience. After losing a disappointing decision to Clay Guida in 2011, Pettis came back with some trepidation in his next bout. He feared the possibility of a losing streak, something he’d never before faced. Competing against the powerful but inconsistent striker Jeremy Stephens, Pettis fought cautiously, carefully, and inched his way to a split decision. Upon hearing the decision, he exhaled, but when he sat down to reflect on the fight, he couldn’t feel good about winning. Not that way.
“I watched that fight and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m not doing that anymore. That’s just not me,’” he said.
And just like that, “Showtime” was back. Since then, he’s had consecutive first-round highlight-reel knockouts of Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon.
Pettis has always been considered a next-level striker, and that’s where he knows his advantage is. He characterizes Henderson’s standup skills as “very sloppy” and “very low level,” and you wonder if all of this could be a P.R. ploy to drag Henderson into that kind of match, hoping to prove a point. If he is, Henderson isn’t buying.
“I don’t begrudge anyone their opinion,” Henderson told FOX Sports, leaving it at that.
But later on, he opens up a bit more. Walk a mile in my shoes, he seems to say, intimating that the critics fail to realize that every time he fights as the champion, he’s facing someone hellbent on realizing their own dream. It’s not a match between prospects or contenders; it’s literally for the supremacy of the division. For the title challenger, it is always the fight of a lifetime.
Pettis will take his chances in the role. It’s one he seems to be made for. There are already billboards of him around town, and he probably already own sneakers that will match the shiny gold belt he hopes to win today. Hell, he even said he’d offer his original August opponent Jose Aldo an immediate title shot if the longtime featherweight champ decides to move up to 155.
Looking so far ahead is atypical for title challengers, who are usually hyperfocused on the opportunity directly in front of them, but that’s what is different about a man named “Showtime,” one who understands you can’t create real magic without a little vision, and a little risk.
