Anthony Pettis: 'I had a separated shoulder' against Ben Henderson at UFC 164

The first round submission victory for Anthony Pettis at UFC 164 last month (Aug. 31, 2013) in Milwaukee, Wisc. (watch it here), was a dominant and impressive way to kick start the "Showtime" title reign in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 155-pound division.

Especially because Henderson -- a decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt -- had only been finished once before in his seven-year mixed martial arts (MMA) career.

What's even more impressive is that Pettis separated his shoulder two weeks prior to his championship fight against "Smooth" and still managed to dethrone the champ much like he did under the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) banner three years ago.

Pettis revealed his injury on "The MMA Hour:"

"You know what, my knee was fine, but I actually separated my shoulder two weeks before the fight. So, going into the fight I had a separated right shoulder. My jitz coach rolled a little too hard and he slammed me on my shoulder, and I separated my shoulder two weeks before the fight. The last two weeks before the camp all I could do was roll really light. I couldn't spar. For me it was just a mental thing. I've been through that before. It sucks that it happened two before the fight, but I wasn't backing out of that one."

The Roufusport-trained fighter isn't a stranger to going hard on the mat.

A few weeks prior to his scheduled Featherweight title fight against division king Jose Aldo at UFC 163, Pettis was forced to withdraw because of a knee injury he suffered while rolling with UFC Light Heavyweight contender Phil Davis. Despite the setback, Pettis was pegged as T.J. Grant's replacement to challenge "Bendo" in "The Brew City" -- his hometown -- for the Lightweight strap.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

After his win, it was revealed that Pettis has suffered yet another knee injury; however, "Showtime" won't require surgery to repair his bum limb.

Pettis will next take on Josh Thomson in the main event of UFC on Fox 9, which goes down in Sacramento, Calif., on Dec. 14, 2013. And Pettis assures fight fans he will be 100 percent come fight night, something that's a must if he plans on finishing "The Punk" in round one.

Or, maybe not if recent history is an indicator.