UFC 185 Results: 5 Fights for Anthony Pettis

Anthony Pettis was poised to become a crossover mixed martial arts star if he walked out of UFC 185 with the lightweight title Saturday. Unfortunately for him, Rafael dos Anjos completely stopped that momentum with a dominating 25-minute performance.

This defeat sends Pettis back to the drawing board. The 155-pound division is full of interesting fights that will help him stay relevant in the weight class moving forward.

Eddie Alvarez

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Eddie Alvarez is still trying to cement himself within the UFC.

Eddie Alvarez was a long-reigning Bellator champion and the man that the promotion was building itself around for a long time. He finally joined the UFC in September, which opened up a number of captivating fights for the promotion.

Alvarez leans on a pressure-based striking attack that has now been a problem for Pettis in his two UFC losses. It will be interesting to see how well these two individuals would compete against each other in what would be a striking-heavy affair.

Jorge Masvidal

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July 26, 2014; San Jose, CA, USA; Daron Cruickshank (red gloves) is hit by Jorge Masvidal (blue gloves) during the lightweight bout of the FOX UFC Saturday at SAP Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Since moving over to the UFC from Strikeforce, Jorge Masvidal has largely flown under the radar. He has won six of his seven performances in the Octagon and continues to improve with each outing.

He’s poised to face Al Iaquinta on April 4, and a win there would give him four straight victories dating back to 2014. Placing him against Pettis would truly test whether or not Masvidal should be considered a contender or remain a gatekeeper to the upper echelon of the division.

Donald Cerrone

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Donald Cerrone is on quite the run at 155 pounds.

Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone faced each other in January 2013 in what was a lopsided win for Showtime. However, since November 2013, Cerrone has gone on a tear, defeating seven straight opponents and leaping to the No 3 position in the UFC rankings.

He is set to face Khabib Nurmagomedov next in what will decide which man gets a shot at Rafael dos Anjos in the future. If Cerrone loses, he could meet Pettis in a rematch. They both have a dynamic striking style that has allowed them to amass a large number of fans. Putting these two against each other on a UFC event on Fox would garner a lot of attention.

Khabib Nurmagomedov

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Khabib Nurmagomedov is emerging as a character in the lightweight division

Khabib Nurmagomedov has been sitting on the sideline for an extended period of time due to a knee injury. He’s set to make his return against Cerrone in the coming months.

If he is unable to get past Cowboy, then the UFC can put him against Pettis in a fight to keep them both near the top of the weight class. Nurmagomedov has a stifling grappling style that has allowed him to stay undefeated to this point. It would be interesting to see how well Pettis would fare with such a fighter.

Michael Johnson

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Michael Johnson is ready for some bigger challenges.

Michael Johnson has been on a strong run that has allowed him to enter the Top 10 of the lightweight division. With his recent win over Edson Barboza, he should see the opportunity to fight against the best that the weight class has to offer.

Pettis is certainly one of those individuals. Pairing these two men against each other would clarify whether or not Johnson is ready to challenge the best in the weight class while helping Pettis stay active at the same time.