American MMA icon Anthony Pettis lost his UFC Lightweight championship belt to Brazilian fighter Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 185 on Saturday in Dallas, Texas. Pettis flew off to a good start, but once he was cornered by Anjos a relentless series of assault and battery began leaving the now former champion with a concussion and stitches.
As soon as the bell rang it became clear that the octagon will be stained with blood at the end. Pettis landed several good blows to shake Anjos to the core, but he recovered quickly. The fight grew more intense with time, but Pettis was clearly receiving the lion’s share of the beating.
The game was endangered with an early end when Anjos landed a thunderous left hand jab splitting open skin near Pettis’ right eye causing a lot of blood flow and restricted vision.
The laceration proved to be the end of Pettis’ chances of winning the game. After seven stitches and a bucket of ointment the bleeding stopped, but all hope was lost already. Anjos put the final nail in Pettis’ coffin with a flurry of punches before the referee stepped in to end his misery.
Dana White, the president of UFC, talked about Pettis’ concussion and stitches in the post-show of UFC 185 on Fox Sports 1. White admitted that Pettis’ dim performance had shocked him and the fans, which included his young son. White added that Pettis was in recovery and was expected to be up and running soon.
