UFC on Fox 6: Pettis Gets Bas Rutten's Approval with Liver Kick Win vs. Cerrone

Anthony Pettis asked UFC president Dana White a very good question after his highlight reel, picture-perfect liver kick knockout of Donald Cerrone.

What does he have to do to get a title shot?

That question carried a lot of weight as Cerrone was carted off to the locker rooms, with "Showtime" Pettis standing tall as one of the clear contenders for the UFC Lightweight Championship.

Even MMA legend Bas Rutten—a master of liver-targeted knockouts in his own right—gave a valuable stamp of approval for the sensational finish, posting his congratulations to Pettis on Twitter:

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Liver shot! Liver shot! Liver shot! Awesome kick by Pettis!!! — Bas Rutten (@BasRuttenMMA) January 27, 2013

"

Not only did Pettis amaze the crowd at Chicago's United Center with the victory, but he's arguably leapfrogged every other 155-pound fighter on the UFC roster.

Should current lightweight champion Benson Henderson manage to defend his title against former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez at UFC on Fox 7, Pettis seems like the logical choice to make for his next match.

After all, before Frankie Edgar fought to a draw with Gray Maynard at UFC 125, Pettis was originally scheduled to challenge for the UFC lightweight belt after the UFC/WEC merger.

However, the necessary rematch led to Pettis taking a tune-up fight against Clay Guida, which Pettis lost in a grueling wrestling bout.

Pettis and "Bendo" famously made waves on the Internet in their last battle against each other as the final fight on the last World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) card in December 2010.

After five rounds of back-and-forth action, Pettis sealed that championship bout in victory with an amazing off-the-cage high kick that quickly went viral. In addition to Pettis' highlight-reel finish of Cerrone, he's also notched an interesting distinction as the first and only man to ever finish the 25-fight veteran by strikes or knockout.