Turns out those Gray skies aren't going to clear up ... so don't expect Anthony Pettis to put on a happy face.
The last man to hold the WEC lightweight title was all set to step in for an injured Frankie Edgar to battle Gray Maynard in the main event of UFC 130 on May 28 in Las Vegas.
Then the unthinkable happened.
"The Bully" joined Edgar on the injured reserves after tweaking his knee in training camp. It was apparently severe enough to boot him from the upcoming pay-per-view -- and send "Showtime" back to The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 13 headliner opposite Clay Guida.
Pettis shares his disappointment with Heavy MMA:
Star-divide
"They were going to have me fight Maynard on [the UFC 130] card. I said 'yes' to that deal right away. I guess it turns out that it’s not going to happen. I’m back to fighting Guida. It sucks that he got injured, because it kinda puts the whole lightweight division back on standstill. For three or four days I thought I was going to fight on May 28 and now it’s just killing me, so I’m going to take it out on Clay Guida."
Pettis is expected to earn his spot as division number one contender if he's able to saw through "The Carpenter" on June 4 in "Sin City."
Maynard has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with the promotion's decision to push Pettis into the lightweight title picture when other challengers, like Jim Miller, have been clawing their way to the top in recent years.
A May 28 grudge match would have gone a long way in determining whether or not he was correct in his assessment, as will the upcoming Guida fight.
As for now, it looks like Maynard and Edgar will be on the shelf until early Fall. In the meantime, "Rampage" Jackson and Matt Hamill have been promoted to the UFC 130 main event.
Thumbs up or down?
Where do you stand on this unfortunate turn of events?
The last man to hold the WEC lightweight title was all set to step in for an injured Frankie Edgar to battle Gray Maynard in the main event of UFC 130 on May 28 in Las Vegas.
Then the unthinkable happened.
"The Bully" joined Edgar on the injured reserves after tweaking his knee in training camp. It was apparently severe enough to boot him from the upcoming pay-per-view -- and send "Showtime" back to The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 13 headliner opposite Clay Guida.
Pettis shares his disappointment with Heavy MMA:
Star-divide
"They were going to have me fight Maynard on [the UFC 130] card. I said 'yes' to that deal right away. I guess it turns out that it’s not going to happen. I’m back to fighting Guida. It sucks that he got injured, because it kinda puts the whole lightweight division back on standstill. For three or four days I thought I was going to fight on May 28 and now it’s just killing me, so I’m going to take it out on Clay Guida."
Pettis is expected to earn his spot as division number one contender if he's able to saw through "The Carpenter" on June 4 in "Sin City."
Maynard has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with the promotion's decision to push Pettis into the lightweight title picture when other challengers, like Jim Miller, have been clawing their way to the top in recent years.
A May 28 grudge match would have gone a long way in determining whether or not he was correct in his assessment, as will the upcoming Guida fight.
As for now, it looks like Maynard and Edgar will be on the shelf until early Fall. In the meantime, "Rampage" Jackson and Matt Hamill have been promoted to the UFC 130 main event.
Thumbs up or down?
Where do you stand on this unfortunate turn of events?
