Anthony Pettis Puts Title Shot On The Line, Will Face Clay Guida

[Rappy Veteran]

Heavy.com is reporting that Anthony "Showtime" Pettis will indeed not wait for UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard to square off again, opting instead to take on UFC wildman Clay "The Carpenter" Guida while Edgar and Maynard settle their business.

Pettis was guaranteed the winner of Edgar and Maynard's UFC 125 bout, but when that scintillating fight ended in a draw, his title shot hopes went up in smoke. Maynard was granted the immediate rematch and "Showtime" was left to figure out what to do with himself in the interim, stating from the get go that he wouldn't sit on the sidelines long enough for that rematch to take place. Pettis earned the next shot at the UFC title by putting on a spectacular performance against Ben Henderson en route capturing the WEC lightweight championship on the WEC's last show, a performance he capped off by delivering the now-famous "Showtime kick." The 23-year old Duke Roufus product holds a professional record of 13-1; he is currently on a four-fight winning streak.

Big Lebowski fan and non-stop ball of energy Clay Guida will serve as Pettis' opponent, and will be looking to do to him what Dustin Poirier did recently to Josh Grispi when "The Fluke" decided not to wait around for featherweight champ Jose Aldo to recover from a neck injury. On the same card that saw Poirier beat Grispi down and squash his immediate title aspirations, Guida halted the momentum that Japanese veteran Takanori Gomi had built up with a stunning knockout over Tyson Griffin by tapping him out in the second round. Guida looked more frenetic than ever while facing Gomi, and his one-of-a-kind style currently has the 28-11 Greg Jackson transplant on a three-fight winning streak.

Pettis and Guida are expected to square off at either UFC 130 or UFC 131, with 130 expected to go down at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 28th and 131 tentatively scheduled for June 11th at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

http://www.fightline.com/fl/news/2011/0111/535465/clay-guida/

[D. S. Veteran]

Uh-oh... :unsure:

Didn't Pettis learn from Grispi at UFC 125? I know he wants to keep his momentum going but still... it's a big gamble. Grispi decided to fight some unknown that ended up smashin him. Fair enoug, Aldo would have nearly killed him. But to make an informed decision to put a title shot (huge payday) on the line with Clay Guida... he better bring it and bring it hard.

[nubs]

Uh-oh... :unsure:

Didn't Pettis learn from Grispi at UFC 125? I know he wants to keep his momentum going but still... it's a big gamble. Grispi decided to fight some unknown that ended up smashin him. Fair enoug, Aldo would have nearly killed him. But to make an informed decision to put a title shot (huge payday) on the line with Clay Guida... he better bring it and bring it hard.

No kidding, he better be prepared to get taken down.