Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis knows he has critics. And he doesn’t care.
Currently shooting The Ultimate Fighter in Las Vegas, Pettis dropped by The MMA Hour to update fans on the status of his injury.
Pettis has been on the shelf since injuring a knee in his title victory over Benson Henderson last summer at UFC 164. But he announced on the MMA Hour that his title defense against Gilbert Melendez will take place on Dec. 6 in Las Vegas at a venue to be determined.
“That’s what they told me, I just found it will be Dec. 6,” Pettis said.
Pettis also took on fans and opponents alike who have criticized his flamboyant fighting style as being the reason for his injury.
“My fighting style is crazy, but at the same time I’ve been martial arts since I was five years old. I’ve been fighting the same way since I was five,” Pettis said. “The training camps aren’t the issue. I used to think it was the training camps I toned it back in training camps. It was just one kick he threw, an inside kick he was aiming to the shin, I didn’t check it right, it was the right amount of impact, and the right angle .. it’s weird to me. I’m not going to go in and change anything up, if I change anything up maybe I won’t have the right performance.”
Pettis went on to single out Henderson specifically.
“It does get under my skin at times,” Pettis said. “Except when Ben Henderson is the one doing it, because I beat him twice. That’s what was supposed to happen. The UFC’s job is to make challengers, not champions. If the champion is dominant, everybody is watching him because they want to see him lose it at some point. Its interesting how the whole thing works.
Credit: MMAFighting.com
