According to a Jan. 29 report from Sherdog, UFC star Anthony Pettis is open to fighting either Benson Henderson or Gilbert Melendez for his next UFC fight.
He doesn't have a preference as to which man he faces, as long as it's for a title. Henderson and Melendez are set to fight in April, and Pettis may be next in line for a shot at the strap.
“Honestly, I don’t care [who wins] as long as we don’t have a decision that’s close,” Pettis told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show. “Somebody finish the fight so we’ll have a champ that I can fight.”
Pettis is coming off a lopsided victory over Donald Cerrone at UFC on FOX 6. He stopped his opponent with a brutal kick to the liver in the very first round.
“At this point, the belt’s been avoiding me,” said Pettis, who has won three straight since losing to Clay Guida. “I’m tired of chasing after it. I’m tired of waiting and putting my career on hold. I just turned 26. I think I’m going to be entering my prime here in the next couple of years. I want to take full advantage of that. … I just want to make sure that it’s official and no matter what happens [between Henderson and Melendez] -- a draw, a close decision, no one’s going to cry about the decision -- that I’m next no matter what.”
Pettis knew the fight was over as soon as he landed the kick to Cerrone's body.
“Your body shuts down,” Pettis said when asked what it’s like getting kicked in the liver. “You can’t do anything. Your mind’s still working and you know you want to fight back, and being at this level I’m sure he wanted to fight back, but when you get hit like that and that clean, your body just shuts down. You literally can’t do anything. It’s a sucky feeling because you’re fully conscious. I think it’s worse than a knockout because you’re fully conscious. You know what’s going on, but you just can’t fight back.”
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