In what was his Featherweight debut at UFC on Fox 21 earlier this year, Anthony Pettis tipped the scales right on the 145-pound mark.
Unfortunately, his second attempt didn’t go as smooth, as “Showtime” came in three pounds over the weight limit for his interim Featherweight title fight against Max Holloway, which is set to headline this weekend’s (Sat., Dec. 10, 2016) UFC 206 event in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White, though not too pleased with Pettis missing weight, says Anthony did try his hardest to hit his mark.
“I’m not happy, but listen, it happens,” UFC president Dana White said Friday on TSN SportsCentre. “Believe me when I tell you, Anthony Pettis wanted to make weight. He’s been working for months for this day. He came in, when he landed here in Toronto, he was 10 pounds (over), so he should’ve made the weight. What that tells you is he’s too old and he’s too big to make that weight, is my opinion. So we’ll see where we go from here.”
Thankfully, the headlining fight will still go on as planned. However if Pettis wins, he won’t be able to walk away with the interim strap, while Holloway will be awarded the belt if he defeats “Showtime.”
In addition to losing out on that opportunity and 20-percent of his purse, Pettis may have also lost on on an opportunity to fight division champion Jose Aldo.
“If Pettis wins, I’ve got to decide if I want him to fight for the 145-pound (title),” White said. “I don’t know if he can make the weight.”
That puts a damper in Anthony’s plans to become the promotion’s next multi-division champion. Unless, of course, he tries his luck at Welterweight. Nevertheless, it will be an interesting to see just what the future hold for Pettis if he happens to defeat “Blessed” in the main event of a pay-per-view (PPV) card that has been met with one hurdle after anotherfrom the onset.