Just days after securing a victory over Alex Morono in the final fight of his latest UFC deal, Anthony Pettis has announced that he’s leaving the promotion and is now a free agent.
“After 12 years I’ve decided to part ways with the UFC to explore free agency,” Pettis wrote on Twitter minutes after posting up a resignation letter.
“Thank you @ufc @danawhite,” Pettis said, while also adding, “I am excited about my future. I promise I am not done.”
Thank you @ufc @danawhite 🙏👊🤝 pic.twitter.com/pJtBo2Hpxc
— Anthony Pettis (@Showtimepettis) December 23, 2020
It’s an interesting turn of events given that on Saturday night Pettis had said he wasn’t planning on making any decisions on his future until after the Christmas holidays, and stated, “the UFC is where the best guys are at, so I would love to fight in this organization still.”
He had also targeted a rematch with Tony Ferguson as the fight he wanted and had been talking about another 155lb title run.
At the same time, Pettis had hinted that he could be looking to pastures new by mentioning the fact that his brother Sergio Pettis is no longer with the UFC.
The younger Pettis sibling now plies his trade in the Bellator promotion, and that could give a solid indication of where ‘Showtime’ may be headed next, with the UFC’s biggest rival having also snapped other departing stars like Yoel Romero and Anthony Johnson.
Pettis departs the UFC coming off back-to-back wins over Donald Cerrone and Alex Morono, though the broader picture is that he’d only won four of his last 12 bouts in the Octagon before that.
