Still some life in Pettis
Former champ looks like his old self in dropping Chiesa
LAS VEGAS — It had been years since Anthony Pettis looked like the man who had electrified fight fans on his way to becoming the UFC lightweight champion — and landed on the cover of a Wheaties box.
Ever since he lost the 155pound belt to Rafael dos
Anjos in early 2015, there had been a suspicion that Pettis was on a slow decline, and it didn’t help when he went down a weight class and struggled at 145 pounds.
On Saturday night, though, the old Pettis was back.
Maybe he didn’t look like a champion, but the old skills were still there, and so was the ability to bring an arena full of fight fans to its feet. Facing off against Michael
Chiesa at UFC 226, Pettis survived an early takedown and then put on a show.
He went for creative — some might say crazy — kicks along the fence. They didn’t always land, but they were fun to watch and he was connecting with enough of his more basic shots that Chiesa was slowly getting worn down.
By the end of Round 1, Pettis was winning every striking exchange and was the fighter bringing all the pressure.
Early in the second round, though, Pettis hit Chiesa with a straight ring hand that dropped him. The former champion followed it up by going for a guillotine choke, but quickly transitioned into an armbar that forced Chiesa to tap-out.
Nobody’s going to say that Pettis has suddenly re-emerged as a contender because he beat a guy who had missed weight the day before. But the primal scream Pettis let out after securing the win told the whole story.
The old Pettis wasn’t dead and gone, after all.
OWN GAME
Gokhan Saki was a kickboxing champion with a long history of knockouts — including in his UFC debut — so there were certain expectations for his UFC 226 fight against Khalil Rountree Jr.
Mostly, people were expecting him to put Rountree to sleep.
Unfortunately for Saki, Rountree had different ideas.
Instead of getting knocked out, Rountree turned the tables and ended the fight with a devastating straight left-hand that put Saki on his back.
A few seconds later and after a couple follow-up punches, the ref jumped in to save Saki and Rountree had scored a high-profile KO only 1:36 into the first round.
There probably aren’t many major implications to the result.
Saki is a big name in the combat sports world but isn’t a top UFC fighter just yet. By beating him, Rountree derailed the hype train but didn’t exactly jump to the front of the line in the light-heavyweight division.
ASKING FOR IT
Raphael Assuncao has every right to feel frustrated.
Despite accepting whatever opponent the UFC has offered him and going 10-2 under the promotion’s banner, it’s never really felt like he was all that close to a bantamweight title shot.
On Saturday night, Assuncao did what was needed to earn a unanimous decision victory over Rob Font.
He’s ranked No. 3 in the 135-pound division and used a well-rounded approach to beat the
Boss, what else do I have to do for my title chance? Do I have to start screaming and curing over here and going crazy? I feel like crying right now. I don’t know what to do. Raphael Assuncao
up-and-comer who is ranked No. 11.
That should probably be enough to earn the Brazilian a title shot, especially when you consider that he’s 11-2 in the UFC and his only loss in his last 12 fights came against current champion
T.J. Dillashaw, who Assuncao beat earlier in his career.
And yet, Assuncao hasn’t received much of a promotional push from the UFC. On Saturday, he was fighting on the preliminary card and it seems increasingly likely that Marlon Moraes is in line to take on the winner of August’s 135-pound title fight between Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt.
So yes, Assuncao is a little frustrated.
“Boss, what else do I have to do for my title chance? Do I have to start screaming and curing over here and going crazy? I feel like crying right now,” Assuncao said. “I don’t know what to do.”
The sad reality is that maybe Assuncao does need to start being a little more outspoken. He’s an elite technical fighter but doesn’t engage in many wars of words and doesn’t manufacture drama.
In asking for a title shot on Saturday night, he might have shown more personality than fight fans have ever seen from him.
This is the UFC we’re talking about, and that stuff matters.
Assuncao’s done more than enough in the octagon to earn his chance at fighting for UFC gold. Now, he might need to show a commitment to putting in the work outside the ring, as well.