IT’S SHOWTIME!
Welcome to the PFL, @Showtimepettis!
pic.twitter.com/FwPDt3ozhF— PFL MMA (@ProFightLeague)
December 23, 2020
It didn’t take long for Anthony
Pettis to find a new promotional home.
One day after
announcing he was parting ways with the UFC to become a free
agent, “Showtime” has signed a contract with Professional Fighters
League. ESPN
was first to report the news, and the PFL confirmed the signing
shortly thereafter.
Pettis will compete in the promotion’s lightweight division as part
of the 2021 season. The PFL canceled its 2020 campaign due to
concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic but will return beginning
in April of next year. PFL’s most recent 155-pound champion was
Natan
Schulte, who outpointed Loik
Radzhabov in the organization’s final event of 2019. Schulte
was also the PFL lightweight champion in 2018. The PFL awards its
champions in each weight class with a $1 million payout at the end
of the season.
In addition to Schulte, Pettis joins a PFL lightweight roster that
includes the likes of Clay
Collard, Johnny Case
and Olivier
Aubin-Mercier, among others.
Pettis ended his UFC tenure with back-to-back decision triumphs
against Donald
Cerrone and Alex Morono,
although both of those wins came at 170 pounds. After besting
Morono, the Roufusport star
revealed plans to return to the lightweight division, where he
was once champion.
“Guys at 170 are big dudes. It’s a different beast than 155. The
reason I wasn’t at 155 is pure laziness,” Pettis said. “It was me
outside the Octagon getting fat and just not caring like I should
care about my career. I was doing some of the extracurricular
things like clubs, the partying scene and all the food that comes
with that. I’ve cleared that part of my life.
“I’m keeping life outside the Octagon very straight. I know I can
get down to 155 and be comfortable.”