Anthony Pettis Explains His Move Up To Welterweight
Anthony Pettis surprised the MMA world, when he called out the welterweight, Stephen Thompson at the start of the year. It didn’t take long for Thompson to accept the call out and since then, the fight has been confirmed as the headline bout at UFC Nashville, on March 23rd.
Now Pettis has explained to BJPenn.com exactly why he wanted to move up to the welterweight division .
“Honestly, at 155 I practically fought the entire division. There are a couple guys who I have fought that I want some rematches. The division is in a pause right now. Of course, some things need to be figured out, but I also thought of going to welterweight. I actually fought at welterweight early in my career in Wisconsin.
“‘Wonderboy’ it’s just he is one of those guys I need to fight before I’m done,” he continued. “Before I retire I want to fight in the fights I want, and personally, that was one of the fights I wanted. I like his style, I come from a Tae-Kwon Do background he comes from a Karate background. It is an entertaining fight. He is just one of those guys who will come to fight.
“I think if I go in there and I feel the way I feel, like the ’55 cut is getting harder, it takes away my energy and I think my performances have been hindered because my weight cuts are hard. I talked to my team about it a long time ago and we knew ‘Wonderboy’ was available. There are a lot of wrestlers in 170. Like if it came down to a title fight it would make sense, but Thompson for me is a striking match. Traditional martial artist vs traditional martial artist, so it is a good matchup for me.
“I know I’m undersized. He is a natural 170, he has to cut down to 170. I will not have to cut any weight at all. He is not the guy who will hold me down so the size is not that big of a deal. If a clean punch hits you it doesn’t matter if the guy weighs 155 pounds or 170 pounds, if it is clean it is clean. I spar big guys all the time, so I’m not worried about it.
“Thompson’s whole game plan is range. He gets these guys so fixated on hitting on him, they walk right into his punches and roundhouse kicks. The game he plays I have done that my whole life. The point sparring is what I grew up doing. When it comes to overall martial arts, I’m a better Thai boxer than him, I’m a better boxer than him, I’m better at jiu-jitsu than him. Other than size, overall skill-wise I’m better than him.
“I don’t even know and that is the exciting part about it. I don’t even know if he is going to try and wrestle me and use his size advantage and hold me up against the cage and score points that way. Or, if he will try and stay long and have a standup fight. It depends what he wants to do. I know I’m moving forward. I have nothing to lose so I’m biting down on my mouthpiece and moving forward.
“I’m excited to go out and give these fans a show.”
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