...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Anthony Pettis will indeed headline his first ever UFC event, and though it won't be for the title shot he was initially expecting to get, it will still introduce him to a larger audience than he was exposed to on Versus.
According to a report from MMAJunkie.com, Pettis' planned bout with Clay Guida will headline The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale on June 4 in Las Vegas, live on Spike TV.
Pettis, entering the UFC as the final WEC Lightweight Champion after a riveting fight with Ben Henderson in December, was initially slated to face the winner of the Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard bout from UFC 125. With that fight ending in a draw, the UFC decided to book a rematch, leading Pettis to take a different fight. Pettis ended his time in the WEC with four straight wins, all in 2010, and enters the UFC with a record of 13-1 overall.
Guida most recently moved his winning streak to three with a second round submission victory over Takanori Gomi at UFC 125. All three of his wins in that span have come by submission. The energetic Guida holds a record of 8-5 in the Octagon.
The Ultimate Fighter 13 will be coached by heavyweights Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos, and will feature 28 welterweight fighters. The season begins filming next week, and debuts on Spike on March 30.
Penick's Analysis: This is a perfect spot for this fight. Coming off the heels of what should be one of the highest rated seasons of TUF ever, the UFC can introduce Pettis on free TV to a large audience that may not have seen him fight before. They can put the "Showtime kick" on an endless loop on Spike for a week heading into the fight, and if Pettis can defeat Guida he'll skyrocket his popularity even further. A win over Guida in impressive fashion on this card will make him an even easier sell as a title challenger for the UFC.
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
