Anthony Pettis misses weight; unable to compete for UFC interim featherweight title

UFC 206 was dealt yet another blow Friday and the interim featherweight title picture just got a little more complicated.

Anthony Pettis came in three pounds overweight for his interim title showdown with Max Holloway, which serves as the main event of the UFC’s pay-per-view in Toronto. In order to qualify for the interim title, Pettis needed to come in at 145 pounds. But in his second fight at featherweight, he didn’t come close. A visibly gaunt Pettis was well over the weight limit and it was announced that he will no longer be able to compete for the interim title on Saturday night.

Pettis is the first fighter to miss weight for a title fight since 2007 when Travis Lutter was unable to make weight for his middleweight title shot against Anderson Silva.

Pettis will be fined 20 percent of his purse and was also subject to the wrath of UFC president Dana White, who obviously wasn’t pleased with “Showtime” not being able to make weight.

“Believe me when I tell you, Anthony Pettis wanted to make weight,” White said to TSN SportsCentre. “He’s been working for months for this day. He came in, when he landed here in Toronto, he was 10 pounds (over), so he should’ve made the weight. What that tells you is he’s too old and he’s too big to make that weight, in my opinion. So we’ll see where we go from here.”

Pettis, 29, fought at lightweight for a majority of his career and was the champion of the division in both the WEC and UFC. But after losing his title to Rafael dos Anjos last March and a subsequent three fight losing streak, the Duke Roufus student decided to drop down to featherweight. He was impressive in submitting Charles Oliveira in August and was scheduled to face Holloway in the co-main event of UFC 206. However, when Daniel Cormier was pulled from the card due to an injury, the UFC decided to elevate Holloway-Pettis to the main event and make the fight for the interim featherweight title. This move set off a domino effect that saw Conor McGregor “relinquish” the featherweight title and promote the previous interim titleholder, Jose Aldo, to full champion.

Pettis came into the fight as much as a +195 underdog according to SportsBook Review against the surging Holloway, who has won nine in a row. If Pettis wins, White will have an interesting choice to make in deciding whether Pettis will be able to challenge Jose Aldo for the featherweight title.

“If Pettis wins, I’ve got to decide if I want him to fight for the 145-pound (title),” White said. “I don’t know if he can make the weight.”