The Roufusport star retained his undisputed Bellator MMA bantamweight championship and passed his most significant test to date on Dec. 3, when he zapped Kyoji Horiguchi with a spinning backfist in the fourth round of their Bellator 272 main event. Pettis entered Round 4 facing a three-rounds-to-none deficit on the scorecards and exited the cage having authored a potential frontrunner for “Knockout of the Year.” He now heads into his 2022 campaign on the strength of five consecutive victories.
As Pettis awaits his next assignment from Bellator matchmakers, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied him to this point.
28: Years of age for Pettis, who was born in Milwaukee on Aug. 18, 1993. “The Fugitive,” “Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday,” “Rising Sun,” “The Secret Garden” and “Jurassic Park” were the Top 5 movies at the domestic box office at the time.
8: Pettis victories as a teenager, accounting for 36% of his career total (22). He made his professional debut as an 18-year-old old when he cut down Kyle Vivian with a first-round head kick at a Canadian Fighting Championship event on Sept. 10, 2011. Pettis was a perfect 8-0 by the time he celebrated his 20th birthday.
99: Combined wins between the five men—Horiguchi, Juan Archuleta, Ricky Bandejas, Alfred Khashakyan and Tyson Nam—Pettis has defeated during his current winning streak. They sport a cumulative record of 99-30-1 (.761).
3: Countries in which Pettis has plied his trade as a mixed martial artist. He has gone 19-5 in the United States, 2-0 in Mexico and 1-0 in Canada.
11: Consecutive calendar years in which Pettis has recorded at least one victory. In addition to his 2-0 mark in 2021, he went 2-0 in 2011, 4-0 in 2012, 4-0 in 2013, 2-1 in 2014, 1-1 in 2015, 1-0 in 2016, 2-1 in 2017, 1-2 in 2018, 1-0 in 2019 and 2-0 in 2020.
51: Seconds needed for Pettis to punch out Dillard Pegg and capture the inaugural Resurrection Fighting Alliance flyweight championship on June 21, 2013. Having occurred in his eighth outing as a pro, it remains the fastest finish of his 27-fight career.
4: Pettis wins by submission. His methods of choice: two guillotine chokes, one arm-triangle choke and one kimura. Pettis owns four other wins by knockout or technical knockout and 14 more by decision.
662: Total strikes landed by Pettis as an Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight, placing him sixth on the organization’s all-time list at 125 pounds. Only Demetrious Johnson (1,678), Tim Elliott (1,445), Dustin Ortiz (1,124), Joseph Benavidez (1,026) and Brandon Moreno (771) have been credited with more.
7: Promotions in which Pettis has competed as a mixed martial artist. He has gone 9-5 in the UFC, 4-0 in Bellator, 4-0 in the North American Fighting Championship, 2-0 in the Resurrection Fighting Alliance, 1-0 in Canadian Fighting Championship, 1-0 in Madtown Throwdown and 1-0 in Legends of Fighting Championship.
.713: Cumulative winning percentage between the five men—Rob Font, Jussier Formiga, Henry Cejudo, Ryan Benoit and Alex Caceres—who have beaten Pettis. They boast a combined record of 87-35.