Anthony Pettis had a rough day at the office on Friday night.
Pettis was looking to lock up a PFL finals appearance with a win over Stevie Ray on Friday night at PFL 7, but unfortunately for him, things did not go his way. In a rematch with Ray, Pettis was confident that he would get the win this time around and was looking forward to making it to the finals. Instead, he lost the fight by unanimous decision bringing his PFL record to 1-4.
Pettis shed some light on what went wrong in the fight afterward in an Instagram story.
Anthony Pettis shared that he broke both hands at PFL 7 pic.twitter.com/tmpounnWym
— Nicole Bosco (@NikBos) August 6, 2022
“2 broken hands SMH,” Pettis wrote.
The loss was the second in a row to Ray and his fourth since joining PFL. Pettis made headlines back in 2020 when he decided to fight out his UFC contract and test free agency. At the time many thought he would sign with Bellator however, the allure of the million-dollar prize by PFL drew him in. Pettis has been an advocate for young fighters pursuing money instead of just the fame of the UFC, but since his UFC departure, he has had less success than in his early days.
The fighting future of “Showtime” is unclear at this time
Pettis is a former UFC lightweight champion and a household name. He hinted that this could be his last year with PFL and could be on his way to testing free agency again. With a losing record in recent years, it seems unlikely that a return to the UFC could be in the cards. Pettis has many other business ventures that keep him busy outside of fighting. He manages young fighters on the side, and now with two broken hands his timeline for return to the cage is unclear. He is 35 years old and has been fighting professionally since he was 20. If he decides to hang up his gloves he will go down as one of the greatest showmen in MMA, and his “Showtime kick” will surely live on for years to come.