Former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis appears to be looking to step things up in 2019 as he’s just floated the possibility of him moving up a weight class to fight on of the welterweight divisions best fighters, Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.
“Heard somebody is looking for a fight,” Pettis wrote on Instagram alongside a picture of Thompson. “What you guys think? Take my talents to WW and take on the boy? Comment ⬇️ let me know if y’all get excited for this one #showtime #lovethis #forthefans #teampettis.”
The suggestion comes at a time when Pettis has seen mixed fortunes since returning back up to lightweight in the summer of 2017.
He began with a decision victory over Jim Miller, but then lost to Dustin Poirier in a ‘Fight Of The Night’ performance. Next up came a submission victory over Michael Chiesa, but most recently he came off second best in a hard fought battle against Tony Ferguson in October that eventually saw his corner wave off the fight following the fourth round.
Apparently that hasn’t discouraged the 31-year-old Pettis however and he’s now looking to fight a former two-time welterweight title contender in Thompson, who is currently going through a mixed run of results too.
Thompson had back-to-back fights for the title against Tyron Woodley, but after a majority draw verdict in their first encounter he then lost out by majority decision in the rematch.
The 35-year-old Thompson then earned a unanimous decision victory over Jorge Masvidal before losing out on the scorecards to Darren Till in his only fight of 2018.
Thompson so far hasn’t responded to Pettis’ call-out and it’s not clear at this stage if there’s any interest from the UFC in ‘Showtime’s’ suggestion either.
