The UFC announced earlier today that former lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis will square off against Edson Barboza at UFC 197.
“Showtime” is coming off back to back losses for the first time in his career, dropping his last fight to Eddie Alvarez, after being dethroned by current champ Rafael Dos Anjos, and will be looking to prove he still belongs in the upper echelon of the division in taking out a promising young contender in Barboza.
Immediately following his loss to Alvarez, Pettis (18-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) was on social media campaigning for a “real fight” right away, and apologized to fans for his performance.
Indeed he got just that in noted striker and #8 ranked Edson Barboza(16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC), however; After going 6-1 over his first seven UFC fights, the Brazilian, more recently, has struggled to break in to the top five, alternating wins and losses, including dropping his most recent fight to Tony Ferguson at the TUF 22 Finale.
The fight is sure to excite fans, as both can lay claim to two of the most unforgettable highlight reel kicks in recent memory and adds to an already stellar UFC 197 card that goes down April 23 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada and features the return of Jon “Bones” Jones taking on long-time foe Daniel Cormier in the main event for the light heavyweight championship.
UFC 197 now includes;
Champ Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones – light heavyweight championship
Champ Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo – flyweight championship
Edson Barboza vs. Anthony Pettis
Rafael Natal vs. Robert Whitaker
Jessica Aguilar vs. Juliana Lima
Clint Hester vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
Andre Fili vs. Yair Rodriguez
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