UFC: Pettis eyes “interim title.”
Pettis can win ‘interim title’
Ultimate Fighting Championship is calling its pay-per-view headline fight Saturday night between Milwaukee’s Anthony Pettis and Max Holloway an “interim title fight,” even though Jose Aldo is the “undisputed” 145-pound champion after Conor McGregor relinquished the belt.
“I’m just as confused as you are,” Pettis said.
What the 29-year-old Pettis knows is that he must get past Holloway in UFC 206 in order to achieve his goal of becoming the rare UFC fighter to win titles in two weight divisions.
Pettis, the former 155pound champ, won in his featherweight debut after losing three consecutive fights at lightweight. He takes a 19-5 record and a No. 5 ranking into the octagon at the Air Canada Center in Toronto. The second-ranked Holloway, 25, has won nine consecutive fights and is 16-3.
“I feel like Max Holloway is a younger version of myself,” Pettis said. “I feel when I watch my old fights and I was a more raw, natural talent, that’s what he does. He goes out there and tries to finish you. He has technique but he doesn’t use it very smartly. He’s more like, punch me in the face and I’m going to hit you 10 times.
“I love that kind of fight because that gives me the opportunity to knock somebody out.”
Two weeks after making history at UFC 205 by becoming the first fighter to hold belts in two divisions simultaneously, McGregor relinquished his featherweight title even though he was adamant that he would be able to defend both titles.
The UFC reportedly forced his hand because it wanted to salvage the UFC 206 pay-per-view card, which lost its main event when light-heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier sustained an injury and had to scrap his fight against challenger Anthony Johnson.
So the UFC is calling the new main event, Pettis vs. Holloway, an “interim” title fight, ostensibly to help sell PPV buys.
None of that matters to Pettis, who has his eye on big-money fights with Aldo and then McGregor, the UFC’s biggest star. But first, he has to get past Holloway.
“Whoever wins this fight is the interim champion and has to fight Aldo for the official title,” Pettis said. “But, for me, I feel like Conor McGregor is the champion. Jose Aldo lost to Conor McGregor. That’s the fight I need. That’s what I want. I beat Max, I beat Aldo, I fight McGregor.”
If all goes according to plan, Pettis likely would then move back to 155 pounds, partly because the weight cut to 145 is difficult for him and partly because “I have to avenge some losses.”
Holloway, one of the hottest fighters in mixed martial arts, is the betting favorite. Pettis salvaged his career by moving down to 145 and submitting Charles Oliveira in August, but many wonder how much he has left in the tank.
“I feel like my technique is way better than (Holloway’s),” Pettis said. “I’ve done these moves way more times than he has. I’ve done it on bigger stages.”
Pettis recently was victimized when cars parked in the driveway of his Milwaukee home were set on fire and destroyed by vandals while he slept. A second incident occurred when two youths came onto his property and stole items from his car. By then, Pettis had installed cameras on his house.
“The police have people in custody and they’re questioning them,” he said. “That’s all I can say about it because it’s an investigation. But I got some closure. I’ve got some answers.”