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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Anthony Pettis found himself thrust into the spotlight this summer with the airing of the MTV series "World of Jenks." The show is a documentary series in which filmmaker Andrew Jenks spends a week following the life of a young person in different situations.
Pettis was one of the subjects of the series, and Jenks followed his daily life in the week leading up to his fight against Danny Castillo in March of this year. Pettis looks back on it as a lifetime memory, and one that he'll never forget. Pettis talked to MMATorch last week and discussed how he came to be on the show.
"The agent of the WEC, Dave Sholler, was contacting a couple of fighters saying they were going to be doing an MTV show, my name was brought up and they wanted me to send some video in," Pettis explained. "I sent in two days of me just doing my daily routine, training and stuff, and I got a call back from Andrew Jenks, actually.
"We did a couple of phone interviews, and it took probably a week and they announced that they wanted to do [the show with] me. At first it was like 'ok, that's pretty cool' I didn't know exactly what was behind it, but once they came and the whole thing was done it was a lifetime memory and I'll never forget it."
The show not only focused on his training and the fight against Castillo itself, but also Pettis in his everyday life. Pettis allowed Jenks to enter his personal life, and opened up about the tragedy his family had endured with the murder of his father, and Pettis credited Jenks for making it easy for him show that side of him.
"I've got to give credit to Andrew Jenks [on getting me to open up]," Pettis said. "This guy is really good, he celebrated his 24th birthday when he filmed my show. He really made me comfortable in front of the cameras. I forgot the cameras were there the second day. So it was pretty much just like having a new friend and showing them the ropes of getting ready for a fight, and just showing them my family and my life. It was a great opportunity and I'm glad I had a chance to do it."
Pettis is now ready for his shot at Henderson on the final WEC card ever before entering the UFC fold. For Pettis, this fight is a chance for him to give back to the company that gave him his break.
"The WEC was my home," Pettis said. "The WEC made my name and made me who I am right now, so I just want to do this company proud and give it the greatest fight that it [has] ever had [in] the last main event."
Of course, this final event has also had a lot of backup and promotion from sponsor AMP Energy. AMP's Hometown Takedown contest allowed fans to vote on where this event would take place, a vote that is bringing the card to Glendale, Ariz. A second contest from the Hometown Takedown promotion has given one fan the opportunity to walk out to the cage with Pettis for his fight at the event. The latest promotion, the "Best Seat in the House" contest, gives one fan a cageside seat at the event and a full behind the scenes experience. Pettis discussed AMP's involvement in the promotion of this fight and how they've helped him as well.
"AMP's been great," said Pettis. "They're helping me out huge for this fight. It's just been an honor working with these guys, it's been awesome. Now they're doing the "Best Seat in the House" promotion. It's letting one fan get the best seat in the house. They'll be able to get a press pass, they'll be at all the behind the scenes stuff, dinner with Urijah Faber and free travels to the fight in Arizona. The event ends on December 3, so make sure to register at bullz-eye.com before then. Amp's doing a great job promoting this and they're just giving the fans some great opportunities."
WEC 53 airs live on Versus from the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz, on December 16.
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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