Uncasville, CT — Once again, a Pettis holds gold in a major MMA promotion. This time, however, it’s not Anthony “Showtime” Pettis but younger brother Sergio, who on Friday captured Bellator MMA bantamweight gold from Juan Archuleta.
The game plan was smart, and effective. “I’m a little piranha out there. I just nick away, and try to get people frustrated, and I bring them out of their game,” he told media outlets including Cageside Press following his championship win at Bellator 258. “Which I feel like I did tonight, [Archuleta] was very frustrated, and I was able to get the better exchanges, use better math than him, use better angles, and my calculations were just on point.”
Pettis arguably turned a wrestler into a striker on Friday, keeping the fight standing through most of the 25 minutes it entailed. “I wasn’t surprised,” Pettis said when asked about Archuleta standing with him. “He’s a tough guy. I feel like he just has an ego that, he had a better striking game plan than I did.”
Pettis also boned up on his wrestling defense ahead of the fight. “It was just on point tonight. He couldn’t really do nothing. He got a nice little slam when I went for the guillotine, kind of did a little front flip over his head, I was like ‘oh shit.’ But nothing really hurt me at all. I felt good. I was calm, calculated, and composed.”
Now, Pettis goes from hunter to hunted. “It feels great,” the new champ said, noting that he’s been getting better and better every time out. “I’m excited to see the final product of Sergio Pettis.”
Watch the full Bellator 258 post-fight press conference with Sergio Pettis above.
