Let’s be honest. When Milwaukee’s Anthony “Showtime” Pettis makes his UFC fighting debut in Las Vegas this weekend, he’s more likely to hit a keno jackpot than duplicate his Kick Heard Round The Web.
And while UFC fans may hope Pettis defies those odds, the 24-year-old Duke Roufus protégé doesn’t sound too concerned about pulling some gravity-defying move against UFC stalwart Clay Guida.
“I don’t feel any pressure at all to go out and one-up myself,” he said Thursday on a conference call hyping The Ultimate Fighter Finale, which will air live on Spike TV Saturday at 8 p.m. “The biggest thing is getting your hand raised.”
And if he does, maybe he’ll earn a bit more respect among his peers.
Because for all that Pettis has accomplished in his relatively short career – compiling a 13-1 record, winning a WEC championship belt with his famed kick, and becoming an international Internet sensation in the process – some fellow fighters haven’t been too impressed.
Take Gray Maynard, the top UFC lightweight contender who might someday face Pettis in a title bout. He seems to be under the impression that Pettis is fresh off a JV wrestling team.
“I mean, who has he fought?” Maynard reportedly said in a recent interview, perking up fight fans who usually look on such brash blather with jaded disinterest. “I’ve been in the trenches this whole time fighting the toughest guys. He throws one kick and then he’s the greatest in the world?”
It’s a low blow by Maynard, one that shows a surprising lack of a respect, a trait you won’t find in Pettis.
In my conversations with the Milwaukee native, he’s struck me as a relatively humble person who’s genuinely thankful for his current station. The only sign I’ve seen of any ego is an occasional tendency to speak of himself in the third person. But that’s understandable, if not particularly palatable, in a sport where over-the-top confidence is a prerequisite.
The bottom line is, Pettis seems like a good kid who’s made the most of his talent by working his butt off to get to this point. And he’s done so despite having a rougher road than most, as seen in the July 2010 issue of Milwaukee Magazine.
Certainly, having a mentor like Roufus by his side has been invaluable in Pettis’ development, not just as a fighter, but as a man.
“He’s been in my shoes before,” Pettis said of Roufus. “He’s been a star in Milwaukee, and all over the place kickboxing. He knows everything that comes with the little bit of fame. So in my personal life, he helps me tremendously just dealing with that and knowing how to balance everything.”
If things go well in Vegas, the balancing act will only get tougher. Pettis is the headliner for a nationally televised event, and succeeding there will only heighten the arc of his shooting star. It’s quite possible that Milwaukee, soon to host its first UFC event, gets a front-row seat to watch someone grow into a legitimate MMA icon.
Pettis isn’t there yet, of course. He still has much to prove in a sport that can churn through talent faster than Favre changes his mind.
But Pettis is on the path, and come Saturday, he can kick over another milestone.
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