That's not to say Pettis doesn't deserve his props for doing what Rashad Evans would not and accepting a fight in lieu of waiting around for the title shot he was promised after defeating Ben Henderson back at WEC 53 in Dec., 2010.
"Showtime" elected to keep busy and accepted the first fight offered to him: a tough scrap against the wily and resourceful Guida, who is coming off a brilliant second-round submission of Takanori Gomi at UFC 125.
Not only that, the Greg Jackson pupil is riding a three fight winning streak, all three finishes, and has won six of his last eight overall. Let's also keep in mind, Guida has nothing to lose in this fight. After all, if he is to come away victorious, that doesn't mean he'll be given a title shot.
That's exactly the pressure Pettis will be facing, however, in what will be his Octagon debut.
A main event match-up in his debut with the world's largest fight promotion with everything on the line against a scrappy veteran. Not exactly an easy gig for the Roufusport product and that's why Guida thinks he deserves respect. He tells ESPN, though, it was a bad idea for Pettis to sign on the dotted line with his name on the contract:
"I give Anthony Pettis all the props in the world for not sitting around and waiting for the winner of Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. I respect the fact that he's stepping up the competition after coming off a great win against Ben Henderson to fight someone like myself. I'm a bad matchup for him. I'm a bad matchup for most of my opponents. You know you're going to have to be in shape. You know you're going to have to be able to stop a takedown or get your own takedown. You know you're going to have to strike a little. You're going to have to do a little of everything, but I do it just a little better than everyone. It's not pretty; my fighting style is definitely not that technical. But I've tightened up my game in those areas that were needed to get me to that next level and compete with the top guys."Pettis made his way to the UFC by winning 13 of the first 14 fights in his budding mixed martial arts career. The 24 year-old Wisconsin native capped his extremely successful WEC run by capturing the lightweight championship in the final fight in the organization.
One need look no further than his "Showtime off-the-wall Kick" that he landed against Ben Henderson to see exactly what he's capable of pulling off once he gets inside the cage.
But will the bright lights and (presumably) tougher match-ups in the UFC quell the uprising of the young 155-pound phenom? Or is his talent enough to overcome the caveman style that Guida brings to the table.
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