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Anthony Pettis shared his thoughts on the upcoming UFC lightweight bout between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. The former WEC and UFC lightweight champion believes that the rematch will be a completely different fight.
Talking exclusively to Sportskeeda, Pettis evaluated how this second encounter might go and why McGregor beat Poirier so effortlessly in their first bout back in 2014.
'Showtime' decided not to renew his contract with the UFC after his last performance against Alex Morono in UFC Fight Night 183 - a win via unanimous decision.
Pettis considered that a move to the Professional Fighters League (PFL) was the most exciting decision to be made at this point in his career.
Anthony Pettis's UFC 257 prediction
Anthony Pettis thinks that Dustin Poirier has matured since the first time that he met Conor McGregor in the octagon almost six years ago. 'Showtime' reckons that Poirier got caught up in McGregor's mental game on that occasion, but the same will not happen at this time.
"Yeah, I definitely think [that] it is going to be a different fight," said Pettis. "I think [that] in the first fight, Poirier was in his [own] head. McGregor got into Poirier's head way too quick. He [McGregor] wanted to hit him, wanted to hurt him. I mean, he [Poirier] kind of just walked into the punches. So, I think that [now] Poirier is in a different spot mentally; a different fighter for sure.
Pettis faced Poirier himself in 2017 when he was submitted by 'The Diamond' with a body triangle in the third round of their clash.
Anthony Pettis wanted to fight Conor McGregor
Speaking to Sportskeeda, Anthony Pettis revealed that he wished to fight Conor McGregor when the Irishman became the UFC lightweight champion.
Pettis recognizes McGregor's success and qualities. 'Showtime,' who got the UFC lightweight championship against Benson Henderson in UFC 164, had another title shot in the UFC featherweight division but lost it to Max Holloway.
"I'm going to take nothing away from McGregor. I think that he's a great, great fighter. That's why I wanted to fight him," declared Pettis. "I think it was one of them fighters that's like came quick, made his name, and that was smart with his approach with to selling tickets and getting guys to watch his fights, but I think this would be definitely a different fight."
In the same exclusive interview, Anthony Pettis talked about his wish to start his boxing career after his time with PFL ends and how he thinks that Logan and Jake Paul are being smart with their selection of opponents. You can check out this part of the discussion here.
