Eddie Alvarez made it clear this week that he sees Anthony Pettis as somewhat of a mentally weak opponent, and believes he’s going to dominate their fight in January. Well, Pettis himself doesn’t see Alvarez as much of a threat, either.
Alvarez’s two UFC fights have seen him get beat by Donald Cerrone and beat up by Gilbert Melendez despite edging out a split decision win. Those two men were defeated handily by Pettis, and the former UFC Champ believes he’s not going to have much trouble with Alvarez if he’s on his game.
“I’m focused on Eddie Alvarez, another good fighter, [but] based on his last two performances, I’m not that impressed,” Pettis said during a Q&A prior to UFC 192 (via MMAJunkie.com). “If I’m in there 100 percent and I’m healthy and fight the way I fight, I don’t think he’s even a challenge.
“…I’m going to go back to focusing on what I’m good at; last fight I was trying to focus on watching the wrestling and all that stuff. When I’m out there focusing on what I’m going to do and not what they’re going to do, I feel like I have the best results. Obviously we’re going to watch a little bit of film and how he stands, but other than that, it’s just me being myself.”
Penick’s Analysis: This is a fight where both fighters have to prove something to themselves, the UFC, and the fans. Alvarez’s loss to Cerrone and close fight with Melendez has him not quite in the top tier as a title contender option right now. A win over Pettis could change that. For Pettis, he lost his title and needs to come back in a big way. A decisive win over Alvarez accomplishes that. They both need a big performance in this fight in January, and one of them will be proven right by the time it concludes.
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