Though it still isn't "official," Eddie Alvarez and Anthony Pettis are expected to lock horns at UFC Fight Night 81 in Boston, Mass., on Jan. 17, 2015.
It's a dynamic Lightweight bout for which many fight fans have clamored over the years, seeing as how their respective fight styles could deliver a highlight-reel, memorable tilt.
In addition, it's a match up that Alvarez tells UFC.com will also allow him to showcase his full arsenal, given that Pettis is known to stand-and-bang, as well as mix it up on the ground. However, one thing you won't see is Alvarez taking the Clay Guida route to secure a win.
He explains:
"Pettis is a very skilled fighter with good stand up, and he's very good at what he does if you allow him the space to do it. This is a fight for me where if I want to take Anthony Pettis down then he's going down. If I want it to stay on the feet then the fight will stay on the feet. I am going to dictate where this fight is going to go, and going into this fight knowing I can determine the location of where the fight is going to go at any time gives me peace of mind. Now, it's about going in there and executing. I can get the win for sure just by going in there and doing what Clay Guida did to him, but I really want to make a statement in this fight. I really want to show the rest of the division what I'm capable of and I'm yet to do that. Pettis is the perfect opponent to do that against. I also couldn't ask for a better location because it's going down in Boston and I know Philly is going to be there representing strong. It's going to be my house that night and I love it."
For the most part, both men have kept the verbal sparring to a minimum, a sign of respect they have for one another.
Still, Alvarez didn't take kindly to Pettis going around saying he wasn't too impressed with his first two fights inside the Octagon. If anything, no one should be impressed with the last outing for "Showtime" against Rafael dos Anjos.
As the former Bellator MMA 155-pound champion sees it, Pettis quit on himself and coughed up the title as soon as "RDA" punched him in the face.
"I heard him say in an interview recently that he wasn't impressed with my last two fights. That's ironic because there isn't a person on Earth who was impressed with his last fight. At least I had a couple people come up to me and say they were impressed with the way I dealt with the adversity of having my orbital broken and was still able to bounce back from that. At least a few people were impressed, but I haven't heard a single person say they were impressed with Anthony Pettis' last title defense. He got punched in the face and kind of quit on himself. The way I see this fight shaping up, and knowing what I can do, I think the same thing is going to happen again."
A win for either man will go a long way in securing their position in the competitive 155-pound title hunt. Meanwhile, a loss would be a catastrophic blow to their immediate title dreams.