Anthony Pettis needed a little bit of time to get his mojo back after suffering a loss to Nate Diaz.
Back in Aug. 2019, Pettis welcomed Diaz back inside the Octagon. While Diaz hadn’t been in action in three years, the Stockton native turned in a one-sided performance against “Showtime.” Pettis was hoping to earn his second straight victory but fell short with a unanimous decision loss.
Pettis Discusses Cut Hand Before Diaz Fight & Down Period
Pettis spoke to the UFC ahead of his Jan. 18 clash with Carlos Diego Ferreira. During the interview, Pettis detailed cutting his hand shortly before the Diaz bout.
“Before the fight I cut my hand. The UFC comes back and they glued me shut, and they’re like, ‘do you wanna fight or not fight?’ I’m like, ‘dude I can’t be a p*ssy and pull out one hour before the fight.’ So they glued me up. I can’t jab, I can’t do any jiu-jitsu, nothing. So I walk out for this fight too amped up. You could see it in my walkout … No matter how much experience you have, you cannot prepare yourself for something like that. And like I said, I don’t make excuses. Diaz fought his ass off, great fight. I hit him with some good shots, he took em.”
Pettis went on to admit that he needed to snap out of a brief down period after the defeat.
“I’m just continuing building off man. I was so motivated last year, so clear-visioned. Studying fights, like back in love with the sport and I’m just continuing. I did get a little down after the Diaz fight. Like, ‘what the heck’s next? what the heck’s happening?’ And I just went back to having fun.”
