UFC 136 Results: What Anthony Pettis Must Do to Get in the Title Picture

Once guaranteed a title shot upon his emergence into the UFC lightweight division, Anthony Pettis is now in a position where he must fight through all of the sharks in the ocean before getting a crack at the treasure.

After defeating Ben Henderson at WEC 53 to become the final reining WEC lightweight champion, a title unification bout with the UFC lightweight champion was all but set in stone for Pettis’ Octagon debut.

Then UFC 125 happened, and a draw between champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard put a temporary hold on Pettis’ UFC title aspirations. The rematch with Edgar and Maynard was booked immediately and is finally coming to fruition tonight, which means Pettis would have had to wait seven months before unifying the titles.

That wasn’t an option—the UFC did not want to bench Pettis for that long, and Pettis opted to remain active. The Duke Roufus product fought Clay Guida at the TUF 13 Finale in June and dropped a unanimous decision, losing his guaranteed title shot in the process.

An exciting split decision over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 136 puts Pettis back on the winning track, but he is still far away from competing for the most coveted prize in his division.

How far away is Pettis from a title shot?

If the lightweight division wasn’t as ultra stacked as it is today, Pettis wouldn’t be far from a title shot at all. In fact, he probably would only be roughly two wins away from earning that opportunity if this was the year 2010.

However, due to the enormous amount of contenders swimming around at 155 pounds right now, it will take some time before Pettis is even discussed in the lightweight title picture.

Stephens is certainly a tough opponent and a good win for Pettis but now the former WEC champion needs to earn victories over higher caliber opposition. Fighters such as Joe Lauzon, Jim Miller and Dennis Siver would be an excellent next step forward for Pettis on his championship quest.

What does Pettis need to do in order to become UFC champion?

Pettis is an extraordinary striker reminiscent of old-school martial artists but with the athleticism and techniques of modern-day stand-up specialists. He strikes from every angle in a manner that makes it incredibly difficult for his opponents to gauge where the next strike is going to come from.

The biggest thing that Pettis needs to work on in order to become a threat in the title picture is his wrestling ability.

In the WEC, Pettis displayed excellent takedown defense and offense against legitimate wrestling studs such as Ben Henderson and Shane Roller but the Guida fight proved that Pettis still needs to develop in this area.

Edgar and Maynard would both be able to take Pettis down at will but if Pettis can rapidly improve in the wrestling department, the Milwaukee native would increase his chances of keeping the fight on the feet and out-striking the lightweight champion, whoever it will be at the time.

Mitch Ciccarelli is the sexiest featured columnist on B/R MMA and a United States Airman. Follow Ciccarelli on Twitter @mitchciccarelli.

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