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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
When Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard fought to a split draw at UFC 125 last Saturday, prompting UFC President Dana White to book a third fight between the two lightweights, new WEC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis was left with a choice. He could take a fight while those two battled it out, or he could wait for that fight to happen to get his shot at the title once they're finished.
It seems he's now made his decision, as MMAWeekly.com reports that he will take a fight in the UFC before getting his title shot.
The decision to fight was revealed by Pettis' manager, Mike Roberts of MMA Inc., who pointed to the length of the layoff as the reason to take a fight instead of waiting for the shot.
"Anthony was obviously disappointed in not getting the title shot but he also understands why Dana made that decision” Roberts said. “After consulting with Anthony and Duke Roufus, we collectively decided that it would be in Anthony's best interest to take a fight in the meantime.
"A 10 month or possible year layoff was just too long. We believe with a win against a top lightweight contender Anthony will still get the title shot later in the year”.
Penick's Analysis: As I said in yesterday's roundtable, I think this is absolutely the right move for him. He'll now have the opportunity to get his UFC debut out of the way against another contender, and prove his claim to the title shot. A big win in the UFC will help him keep his momentum going from this past year, and add more legitimacy to his title fight when it does happen. And again, if he loses, than it will simply prove that he wasn't ready for the title shot at this stage in his career anyway. He's only 23 years old, and though he's supremely talented and exciting to watch, he's still fairly unproven. A win over an established name at lightweight will help to shed that label.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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