Anthony Pettis will not drop to featherweight, says "155 is my home"

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Anthony Pettis made it clear on Wednesday that he's not going to be dropping to the featherweight division. His manager had said on Tuesday night that it was something that was considered, but not likely, and Pettis on Wednesday afternoon took to Twitter to assure everyone of his future plans.

"I'm not dropping to 145 to fight [Jose Aldo]!" Pettis tweeted. "155 is my home, and I'll get that belt soon!"

The final WEC Lightweight Champion has had a rollercoaster ride of emotions in the UFC thus far. Defeating Ben Henderson in the final WEC fight earned him a promised shot at the UFC Lightweight Championship; but when Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard fought to a draw - necessitating an immediate rematch - he decided to take another fight.

His subsequent decision loss to Clay Guida was a major setback, and a split decision win over Jeremy Stephens in a not-so-exciting fight had his stock much lower at the end of 2011 than it was at the end of 2010. Then, Pettis went out in Japan and kicked Joe Lauzon's head near off, and he was told he was "probably" next in line for the title shot again.

But the UFC have given Edgar a chance to regain his belt from Ben Henderson after a close fight, leaving Pettis on the side again.

Penick's Analysis: Pettis is hoping to return to action as soon as May, but I honestly just don't know who you book him against right now. Gray Maynard is a sensible choice from a rankings standpoint, but the UFC isn't likely to put him anywhere near a #1 contender fight right now. Further, he represents a big grappling risk to Pettis, and I don't know if they're going to put him in that type of fight this year before getting a shot at Henderson. Not that he is incapable of defeating Maynard, but after the way the Guida fight went down last year it's not likely high on their list of matchups. After Maynard, you have a Guida rematch as a possibility, though I don't know if anyone other than Pettis wants to see that fight. Jim Miller and Nate Diaz are locked up in a fight in May, as are Edson Barboza and Evan Dunham, all fights that would be high-level and exciting opponents for Pettis. A number of other potential opponents are also either already booked or injured. If George Sotiropoulos can come back by May or June he'd be an exciting and suitable option, but his stock has fallen significantly in the last few years. There just aren't a ton of legitimate options right now, and he may need to fight someone much lower on the totem pole if he wants to come back that soon.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_12779.shtml

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