Has Anthony Pettis Lost His Mojo?

First off, want to give a big thank you to the readers who have been reading and commenting on my last couple of columns. Even if you don’t agree with me on all my opinions, I always enjoy reading your comments and having some discourse. So thanks for tuning in and commenting.

This week, I wanted to discuss a UFC fighter who is currently in the midst of quite a slump, and that’s former WEC and UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. Pettis lost a unanimous decision at UFC 197 to Edson Barboza, an opponent who was basically a 2-to-1 underdog for their fight. This now marks a three-fight losing streak for the former UFC champion.

First off, I am going to pat myself on the back and toot my own horn here because I predicted Barboza to win this fight. But I’m doing so not just because I correctly picked Barboza to win, but almost to the letter, I predicted exactly how the fight would go. You can check out my commentary on the fight over HERE. Now, Edson Barboza is a very beatable opponent. I’m hesitant to call him an elite fighter with so many holes in his game. The game plan to beat Barboza is simple. The way you beat Barboza is by putting pressure on him. When you push the pace on Barboza, use aggression and really just pursue him, he wilts under that pressure. He doesn’t respond well to aggression and being taken out of his comfort zone. However, Pettis gave no reason for Barboza to leave his comfort zone in their fight. Barboza is a counter-striker, and so is Pettis. That’s the kind of match-up that almost infinitely favors Barboza. When you give Barboza time, he settles into a rhythm. He finds his distance, and then he will out-strike you for most of the fight. Pettis was way too patient in this fight. While he spent most of the fight waiting and being way too patient, Barboza was snapping off devastating kicks to the leg and body. You can’t watch that fight and claim Pettis won a close decision on any level. Pettis’ legs and ribs were already sporting some nasty bruises and scrapes after the fight.

What was disappointing though is just how lazily Pettis played right into the game of Barboza. Pettis is considered a great striker in his own right, but he looked slow and downright sloppy here. Pettis is known for his innovative and dynamic strikes and kicks. He threw some of those in this fight, but with absolutely no set-ups. Not to mention, he was whiffing on all of his big attempts. He looked completely out-classed. This did not look like the Anthony Pettis of old. But the reason I picked Barboza and thought he could win was because of the way Pettis has been fighting lately. Consistently, he’s been looking way too patient. Even in the Eddie Alvarez fight, which was a lot closer, it was like Pettis was waiting for that one big opening that just never came. You simply can’t be that patient and laid back in a fight that’s only three round with 15 minutes. You can’t spend an entire five rounds feeling out your opponent. I saw this happening yet again with Pettis’ fight vs. Barboza. And Pettis did not disappoint in putting on a disappointing performance.

This might be crazy, but Pettis is not in a good position right now. I wouldn’t say he’d be cut with another loss, but now he’s lost three in a row. I doubt the UFC would cut him with another loss considering that one of those losses was a UFC title fight, and the other was a virtual title eliminator. However, he’s now dealing with a 5-4 UFC record. If he loses once more, crazily enough, Pettis could be dealing with just struggling to stay on the UFC roster. Say what you want about Barboza, but this was on paper a fight Pettis was supposed to win. Pettis asked for a fight against another striker and someone who wouldn’t wrestle him. Well he got that fight, and he was completely out-striked.

It just looks like something is missing for Pettis as of late. What’s weird is that he just turned 29 years old. This really should be the prime of his career. Maybe he peaked a little earlier than most. He started his ZUFFA career seven years ago in the WEC in 2009. He had a meteoric rise, as a young and budding superstar who wowed fans with his dynamic striking style. His highlight reel moment with the Showtime kick in his WEC title fight against Benson Henderson is the stuff of legends. It immortalized him in the history of the sport. He made the transition to the UFC and had a bumpy start, but he ultimately rallied back and became UFC lightweight champion. Despite some starts and stops, it looked like Pettis’ career was back on track. Not to mention, he became the first UFC champion to be put on a Wheaties Cereal box. In many ways, it seemed like Pettis could’ve been the Jon Jones of the lightweight division.

In Pettis’ defense, lightweight is a competitive division. As it stands, lightweight is really the most stacked, blood-thirsty and shark-infested division in the sport. With that in mind, I believe if you took the top 50 lightweight MMA fighters in the world and put them in a single-elimination tournament, you would more than likely see a ton of crazy upsets. It just speaks to the talent richness and talent infusion of this division.

However, Pettis has not looked the same lately. He looks a lot slower and more sluggish. In addition, he’s not pulling the trigger anymore. Pettis used to be a very dangerous moment who could end the fight in one strike. Not to mention, he was capable of ending the fight with some crazy submissions. Pettis defeated Henderson with an armbar. The reason that’s nuts is because Henderson had established a reputation in WEC and UFC as basically being unsubmittable, and Pettis put an end to that. He also became the first fighter in history to submit Gilbert Melendez, a BJJ black belt under Cesar Gracie.

One thing Pettis has had to deal with recently is a litany of injuries. Pettis has constantly had to come back from various injuries that have given him long layoffs. What’s weird is that before when he would return from a long layoff, he would still have good performances, until now. It wouldn’t be crazy to think that the wear and tear of his various injuries is starting to set and slow him down. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t look as powerful and crisp as he used to.

Another big change that’s started in the UFC lately is the ban on IVs for rehydration. IVs were a big part of fighters’ weight cut regiments. It was a bit of a safety net for them. While many fighters claim they are fine without the IVs, maybe deep down, they are lying. Perhaps the lack of IVs has affected Pettis’ game.

I’m not accusing Pettis of taking PEDs, but I wouldn’t be the first commentator to notice that some fighters post-USADA don’t look as impressive as they used to. I’m not saying the USADA testing is directly tied to Pettis suddenly losing two fights this year and looking rather un-impressive. At the same time, proponents of the UFC getting an out-of-competition drug testing program would constantly exclaim how rampant the PED problem is in the sport, with over half the fighters on the industry being on the juice. So is it insane to discuss that some fighters who haven’t looked as fast, dangerous or impressive as they used to coming off of using PEDs? Granted, that’s if you believe steroids truly enhance your performance.

Pettis’ is not incapable of mounting a comeback at all. He certainly has time on his side. However, he’s got to make some changes or do something quick. In his next fight, he won’t be fighting for a title shot. Now he’s fighting for relevance. If his slump continues, he could soon be fighting for his spot on the roster.

Jeffrey Harris is 411mania’s resident Jack of All Trades and has covered MMA for the site since 2008. You can shoot him an e-mail at [email protected] or hit him up on Facebook. You can also check out the latest edition of the podcast he co-hosts alongside Robert Winfree, The 411 Ground & Pound Radio Show, below.