Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweights Anthony Pettis and Charles Oliveira collided last night (Aug. 27, 2016) at UFC on FOX 21 inside Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. On the heels of losing his title in a trio of defeats, Pettis spoke a lot prior to this bout on restarting his career as a 145-pound fighter. There was a ton on the line for Pettis, as there were few other options for the former champion if he could not make a home for himself at Featherweight.
Standing in his way was Charles Oliveira, a fellow former Lightweight who has thrived since his drop in weight. Oliveira has been close to the title mix for some time, and a strong showing here could give him that last bit of push necessary. Oliveira wasted zero time in shooting for a takedown and got deep in on the shot, but Pettis defended well and broke free. Unfortunately for Pettis, Oliveira looked for a second takedown immediately after and landed directly in back mount.
To watch Anthony Pettis vs. Charles Oliveira full fight video highlights from UFC on FOX 21 last night click here.
Pettis did a fantastic job of reversing position quickly and then standing up. Back on his feet, he tagged Oliveira with a few punches and ripped a body kick, forcing Oliveira to crumble down to his back. For the rest of the round, Pettis maintained top position and pounded away at his opponent. He did quite a bit of damage, though he failed to force the finish.
It was a dominant start to Pettis Featherweight career.
Pettis looked a bit tired to start the second round, but that didn’t stop him from stabbing his opponent with hard punches and nice kicks. In addition, he prevented his opponent’s takedown attempts without much issue. Despite Pettis’ early success on the feet, Oliveira kept pushing forward and landed some nice punches of his own. By keeping the pressure on Pettis, Oliveira was able to score with some nice shots, pin Pettis into the cage, and land another big takedown into back mount.
Pettis worked his way back up to his feet with a minute remaining, scoring some hard blows. However, he couldn’t deter Oliveira, who kept attacking and finished the round with a takedown.
It was a very tight round.
Oliveira opened the third round with an easy double leg takedown. Oliveira looked to move into back control, but Pettis was able to reverse into top position once more.
As Pettis returned to his feet, Oliveira got a bit sloppy in pursing the double leg takedown. As he pursued the takedown, Pettis locked up his guillotine choke and pulled guard, trapping the jiu-jitsu ace and finishing the fight.
This was a hard-fought and well-earned victory for Pettis. Early on, he did an excellent job of denying takedowns and digging into his opponent’s body with kicks, as he very nearly finished the bout in the first round.
Additionally, Pettis’ grappling in this bout was spectacular. His opponent put him in some threatening spots, but Pettis was able to reverse or escape each attempt. Then, the final guillotine choke was very slick. It was prime "Showtime," as Pettis capitalized on a small opening to finish his foe.
That said, Pettis’ flaws were on display a bit as well. The second round was very close, as Oliveira was able to walk Pettis into the fence while landing hard punches and takedowns.
While this is not going to be a common opinion, Pettis is not better off at Featherweight. He fatigued badly, which has never been a problem for him in the past. This fight was extremely competitive and could’ve gone the other way, largely because Pettis grew so tired.
Lightweight is a better home for "Showtime."
Oliveira tried to force the grappling throughout the fight, and it really cost him. Early on, his obvious takedowns were defended, and he spent a ton of energy trying to force them. When they failed, Pettis was able to shred him with strikes.
In the second round, Oliveira was more content to pressure Pettis and throw his hands. He landed quite a few hard shots in that mode, and it opened up his takedowns and allowed him to find more success with his shots.
In the final round, Oliveira capitalized on his earlier success by landing a takedown with ease against the fence. When Pettis did an excellent job of reversing, Oliveira could’ve reset and went back to work. Instead, he tried to hang onto his past position and force the takedown.
It cost him his neck.
Last night at UFC on FOX 21, Anthony Pettis returned to the win column with a guillotine choke. Is Pettis a future Featherweight champion?
For complete UFC on FOX 21 "Condit vs Maia" results and play-by-play, click HERE!