Anthony Pettis will defend his UFC lightweight title again in March, facing Rafael dos Anjos. The announcement was made tonight during the UFC 182 Fox Sports 1 preliminary broadcast. The fight will be the main event of UFC 185.
Pettis has seen his career plagued by injuries and it’s been rare to see him make quick turnarounds in the past few years. However, he just fought in December, making this an encouragingly quick bounce back from his submission win over Gilbert Melendez.
Dos Anjos is getting the title shot on the strength of knocking out Benson Henderson in August and then dominating Nate Diaz on Fox.
The other potential challenger for the title was Khabib Nurmagomedov, but the shot goes to dos Anjos, who is able to take it to keep the UFC’s very strong early UFC run in tact.
We’ll have more information on UFC 185 in the coming days and weeks as well as continuing coverage of UFC 182 all night.
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