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From being the first mixed martial arts athlete to appear on a Wheaties box to going 3-5 in his last eight, Pettis may have had one of the hardest falls from grace in UFC history, but a win over Ferguson would completely turn it around and put him right back in line for the greatest prize.
The Rise and Fall of Showtime
What made Pettis so feared in his prime was his unorthodox style; deadly fast kicks, patient striking and the ability to fight from both stances. He’s never had the best boxing or footwork, but his kicks and ability to keep his opponents at distance is how he finds success.
What makes Pettis’ kicks so dangerous is the little to no set up needed for them to connect. Pettis first started training taekwondo at 5 years-old and the tendencies he learned are still relevant in his style today. Since taekwondo is a kicking-heavy sport, athletes are taught to land their kicks up close and at distance and are known for their ability to hide their setups to make them difficult to time. Most of his kicks target the body but lately, he has mixed them up more to the thighs and calves and has developed a nice low-line sidekick to the lead leg after Max Holloway used it against him.
And of course, Pettis will still show flashes of his old “Showtime” self with these cage kicks and other unorthodox strikes like a front flip kick and jumping knees off the cage. Although he has toned down his creativity since joining the UFC, the threat is always there. This allows him to get away with things that the average fighter couldn’t, like leaping forward with his hands down.
Pettis is a rather patient fighterbut doesn't possess the countering abilities of his younger brother, so he had to learn a happy medium of knowing when to stay at distance and when to come forward. Pettis has never had the best hand game and often looks flustered when trading in the pocket, so leading exchanges are far and few between these days. Something to notice about these leading exchanges is the lack of kicks. His kicks are obviously his best and most feared weapon, yet he rarely throws them when leading and saves them for distance striking, which can become easier to read. If Pettis can learn to end or begin his leading combos with kicks, he should have more success striking in the pocket.
Newer MMA fans know Pettis for the struggles he’s went through the last few years, but there was a time when he was an enigma nobody could figure out. But his very first UFC fight against Clay Guida ended up being the blueprint for success against the elder Pettis brother. It wasn’t used successfully against him again until years later. From the Guida fight we learned Pettis struggles to deal with pressure or get his back off the cage and will stand and trade if he can’t use his distance striking. This strategy wasn’t used again until he fought Gilbert Melendez, who was beating him until Pettis finished him with a guillotine midway through the second round. But in his very next fight, Rafael dos Anjos used the same game plan as Guida/Melendez and pressured through to beat him up against the cage and on the ground.
Although mainly a striker, Pettis has a very underrated submission game and possess some interesting transition ability. He won the lightweight title from Benson Henderson with an armbar in the first round and his only title defense against Melendez was won with a guillotine. In fact, Pettis has more submission victories (10) than he does knockouts (7) despite his background. Something interesting about Pettis’s grappling is his ability to roll over into full guard when his opponents have his back. Although an above average grappler, Pettis often lets his back get taken rather easily, so instead of learning to defend the back take he learned how to reverse position. It is unusual how he is so good at this transition, but it has saved him many times throughout his career.
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