Las Vegas, NV — Anthony Pettis relied on Gordan Ryan to assemble his team for the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 2 over the weekend.
And to keep his team motivated, “I paid them $500 for every submission,” Pettis revealed, speaking to reporters at the event on Sunday. Not to mention, he divided up his own paycheck and gave it to his team as well — an incredibly generous gesture.
Of course, Pettis (25-13) still has a million dollars in prize money in his sights, as he’ll return in the PFL’s 2022 post-season next month. Pettis is first overall in the lightweight division, despite being quickly submitted by Stevie Ray in his last bout.
“I made a dumb mistake. I initiated that takedown sequence, I caught him single-leg but his knee was between my legs. Instead of fighting for the underhook, I let him Whizzer me hard and take my back,” Pettis recalled. “In my head I was like ‘yo I’m gonna spin around and get on top like I always do’ but I think I messed up, I posted it [online] like two days before the fight, I was like ‘it works every time.’ So dude must have been watching, for sure he was watching because then he adjusted and put it away with the body triangle.”
Pettis, for all his experience, added that he’d never been in such a predicament before. “Because I’d just never been in that position, he had the body triangle but kind of modified though, more around my hips and my knee area. So when I went for the turn I made it worse on myself by trying to turn my spine. Then he went over my head and put so much pressure on my rib.”
Pettis also knew that if he were injured, he’s be “done done” given he’d already made the playoffs and was fighting on August 5. All that appears to have compelled him to tap. Now, he’ll face Stevie Ray in an immediate rematch. “I love the format, I get the rematch and have the possibility of becoming a champion.”
Watch the full media scrum with Anthony Pettis at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 2 above.
