Anthony Pettis has been quite the busy man lately. “Showtime” is the coach of the current season of The Ultimate Fighter, has been seen doing UFC Q & A’s, won his spot on the Wheaties box, and has even made guest appearances on UFC on FOX shows.
Essentially, Pettis has been doing everything besides actually defending his title, and the bevy of contenders are creating a logjam at the top of the division.
Pettis will finally defend his title for the first time against fellow TUF 20 coach and former Strikeforce Lightweight champion Gilbert “El Nino” Melendez at UFC 181 in December.
“Showtime” acknowledged that he has a lot of mouths to shut, but promises to kick off his title reign with yet another first round finish.
“The fans can expect me finishing this fight in the first round,” Pettis told Combate.com in a recent interview. “I’ve been out for a year and I’m excited to be back. I’m healthy, ready to fight and, unfortunately, Melendez will be my first opponent after my return. I say unfortunately because I’m sure that I won’t need more than one round. I have to shut up a lot of people and I have others to face.”
While Pettis has always been supremely confident, he better be wary of overlooking Melendez and thinking about future competition.
