Anthony Pettis is set to make his welterweight debut against Stephen Thompson on Saturday and insists he is ready to “shock the world” with his striking.
‘Showtime’ is a veteran of the game, having made his UFC debut in 2011, and he is now set for a new challenge in the octagon.
Pettis did venture into the welterweight division early in his MMA career but he has never fought at 170 pounds during his time in the UFC.
After losing to Tony Ferguson at UFC 229 in October, Pettis has a point to prove and he will get that opportunity when headlining the bill in Nashville, Tennessee.
The 32-year-old has vowed to come out with a big focus on striking and believes his approach will “shock the world”.
Pettis said: “My gameplan – striking – is gonna shock the world. I feel like the way I’m gonna attack this fight, no one’s seen it before and I’m just gonna continue building off of this.”
The Wisconsin native is relishing the opportunity to test himself against “one of the best in the world” and insists he always felt a showdown with ‘Wonderboy’ was on the cards.
He added: “I went to the UFC, I wanted to find out who was next on my radar. The UFC gave me some names and the one that stood out was ‘Wonderboy’. That’s a fight that I saw happening in my career eventually.
“I know that 170, it’s my first time going there. He’s number four in the world, but it just makes it that much more interesting for me. Fighting one of the guys that are the best in the world, a new weight class and it’s gonna tell me a lot about where my skill’s really at.
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