The mixed martial arts community has once again been electrified by the idea of a potential matchup within the UFC, and it’s all courtesy of the Twitterverse. Based on tweets from Anthony Pettis, rumors began to circulate that he planned to drop down to featherweight to challenge the current champion at that weight class, Jose Aldo. That idea caused a stir among fans, who reached out to both the fighters and UFC President Dana White to express their excitement over the potential matchup. And while no one with the power to make the fight has even responded to the rumors, it is obvious that the idea has proven quite intriguing to many fans. Therefore, if Anthony Pettis is truly capable of dropping down to 145, this is a fight that the UFC cannot afford to pass up.
To begin, the featherweight division has almost been cleaned out by Aldo, despite the fact that the weight class has only been a part of the UFC for little more than a year. However, if you look at any MMA media outlet’s top ten listings for the featherweight division, you will be hard pressed to find a credible contender beyond Japanese standout Hatsu Hioki. However, Hioki himself has balked at the idea of getting a title shot, and after his UFC 144 performance he requested one more bout before being matched against Aldo. Beyond Hioki, no one in the group of UFC featherweights has emerged as a contender who deserves a title shot.
In addition, Pettis finds himself in limbo once again when it comes to receiving a shot at the lightweight crown. After he defeated Benson Henderson in 2010 at the last WEC event, Pettis was brought over to the UFC with the expectation that he would face the winner of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard at UFC 125. However, we all remember what happened with that bout. Instead of waiting for his shot, Pettis chose to fight Clay Guida, and suffered a career setback at the hands of the “Carpenter.” Now that he again finds himself on the outside looking in on the title picture, as Edgar has been granted a rematch against Henderson later this year, Pettis will need to stay busy. A fight against Aldo at featherweight, though not the title shot he preferred, would allow him to stay busy while participating in a relevant fight that would only increase his stock within the company.
Plus, a fight between Jose Aldo and Anthony Pettis almost begs to be featured on a free, network television card. This bout would be exactly the kind of matchup that the organization needs to create a massive following from the mainstream sports fans that have proven so elusive to Zuffa promotional efforts for so long. Imagine these two individuals headlining a show on Fox following the promotional buildup of a world title fight. The UFC hype machine has made stars out of lesser fighters, and an Aldo-Pettis fight would not disappoint anyone. The Ultimate Fighter Finale matchup between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar is often touted as the fight that saved mixed martial arts; I believe that an Aldo-Pettis fight would be a contest that would help push the sport into its next phase of growth, much like the Benson Henderson vs. Clay Guida fight during UFC on Fox 1 would have if it was featured during the live telecast.
Not only would this fight on network television give the UFC the opportunity to create household names out of two of the most exciting strikers in the sport today; fans would also have the opportunity to see a fight that would encompass the entire MMA game, as both combatants have the abilities to thrive in multiple positions during the contest. They are both known as vicious strikers who can put their opponents down with a single blow, but they have dangerous ground games as well — Aldo is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and Pettis has a very active guard. With those skill sets pit against each other, it would be very interesting to see how this fight would be dissected by the sports media leading up to the confrontation.
Mixed martial arts has greatly benefited from the development of social media. With a few clicks fighters can say whatever they can to their fan base. While this has created some negative situations for the personalities involved, it’s moments like this, in which an idea starts a landslide, that makes the mixture of the two very special. I for one hope the powers that be within the UFC give the fans what they want, and pit Jose “Scarface” Aldo against Anthony “Showtime” Pettis for the world to see.
