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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
"At some point in time, Anthony Pettis and I will dance in the cage again. Before he retires, before I retire, we will dance in the cage again. That being said, it's on him. It's his job to get to the belt level. It's not my job to wait for him or open the doors for him. He's great. He's a great fighter. I take my hat off to him. I'm a big fan of his. But it's not up to me to say, 'This guy's next. He's next.' My job is to beat whoever they put in front of me."
-It wasn't just Donald Cerrone sending shots towards Anthony Pettis at the UFC 150 pre-fight press conference on Thursday, as UFC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson took his own dig as well (via MMAJunkie.com).
Penick's Analysis: Pettis hasn't asked for any doors to be opened to him. He took a fight he didn't need to take against Clay Guida last year, and an unfortunate performance cost him what was a promised title shot. He's added two wins since then, and with a win over the current Champion he's at the championship level right now. He's got to pick up a win later this year, but he'll likely get a No. 1 contender fight, and if Donald Cerrone defeats Melvin Guillard on Saturday it could be against him. That said, from Pettis' standpoint, he still doesn't understand why Henderson continues to downplay his credentials when it was Pettis who won their fight at WEC 53. The rematch is destined to happen, and if all goes according to plan, it will happen in 2013.
[Ben Henderson art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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