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As Steven
Ray trapped Anthony
Pettis in a modified twister in the second round of their PFL
regular season bout on June 24, “Showtime” had a difficult decision
to make.

On one hand, he could fight to escape the submission and risk
injury — as well as his spot in the playoffs. One the other hand,
he could tap and save himself from further damage.

Ultimately, he chose the latter option.

“In that fight, I had to make a decision to let the rib pop or tap
out before I got to that point,” Pettis said during a PFL media
day. “I already had a spot guaranteed for the playoffs, so it was a
split decision I had to make — would I get injured and possibly get
out of the submission or tap out? Injuries happen in this
sport.”

As fate would have it, the submission victory secured Ray a rematch
with Pettis in the lightweight semifinals. The bout will serve as
the main event for
PFL 7 on Friday night at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden
in New York.

“The rib feels good,” Pettis said. “Training camp we changed the
mindset a little bit. Last fight I was point sparring him, I was
just trying to survive and not get hurt. Wrong mindset going into
these fights. This one is a must win.”

Pettis has two prominent rematches — against Benson
Henderson and Donald
Cerrone — in his MMA career, both of which he won. The
difference on those occasions is that he was also victorious in the
first meeting. Still, the former UFC and WEC champion is confident
that he learned from his previous fight with Ray.

“I’ve had rematches and I won all my rematches,” Pettis said. “He
caught me in a submission, no lie. He caught me in a position that
I initiated, that’s what’s frustrating about the whole thing is I
don’t usually shoot takedowns. I was winning the standup. But I was
trying to play it safe because I knew I had this fight coming up. I
got caught, wrong mindset.

“I’m living and I’m learning still. Even though I’ve been in this
sport for a long time, I’m still learning.”

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

Internationaler Kampfkunst und Kampfsport Kleinanzeiger