Anthony Pettis denies 'stupid' claim he faked injury to avoid UFC 163 fight against Jose Aldo

While his injury may have been convenient, upcoming UFC Lightweight title challenger Anthony Pettis insists everything is on the up-and-up.

A tweak to Pettis' knee cost him a shot at UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo this past weekend (Aug. 3, 2013) but "Showtime" had recovered enough to campaign for and receive a lightweight title shot against champion Ben Henderson at UFC 164 later this month (Aug. 31) in his hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

When Pettis initially replaced T.J. Grant as number one contender, the conspiracy theories started flying and you can count Aldo's head coach Andre Pederneiras as a firm believer in them. He was a guest on Brazilian radio show "Mundo da Luta" on Sunday and was quoted saying he believed Pettis' injury never happened.

"In my opinion, [Pettis] never got hurt. He realized he'd never make weight (at 145 pounds), that it wasn't as easy as he thought it would be."

MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz spoke to Pettis' camp through his jiu-jitsu coach Diego Moraes and was able to secure a harsh response from the former WEC Lightweight Champion.

"It's stupid of him to say something like that. It was a dream fight for me. My injury was real and the UFC took me from the fight. I hope to win my next fight and fight Aldo at 145 pounds."

If Pettis still wants a piece of Aldo, he'll have to wait until 2014 as the featherweight champion broke his foot in the first round of his successful title defense against Pettis' replacement "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung.