A. Pettis (photo) has recovered from a knee injury. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
The UFC lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis, isn't too worried about his first title defense. On December 6th, at UFC 181, “Showtime” will face Gilbert Melendez, whom he classifies as an opponent who does not pose any great danger.
Pettis believes that the only way Melendez will stand out is by imposing his pace throughout the five rounds. The challenger hasn't finished a fight in over three years, when he beat Tatsuya Kawajiri by technical knockout in Strikeforce.
“Gil is a tough opponent. He's one of those guys who likes to fight. We could see him in the fight against Diego Sanchez dropping bombs, and the fight with Ben henderson lasted five rounds. But I don't see him as a big threat. He doesn't knock anyone out, he doesn't submit anyone. He goes out there and maintains the same pace throughout the fight, so I have to break him and make sure he doesn't last five rounds with me,” said Pettis, in an interview with the UFC's official website.
The fight will mark Pettis' return to the Octagon after one year and four months. Therefore, the champion wants to ensure that he will have a remarkable performance in front of the public. “I need to go out there and remind everyone of who I am. MMA fans have a lot of fights to watch, so they forget about it all very quickly. I was away for a year, so I need to go back there and remind them again,” he concluded.
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