Issue 067
November 2010
Flair fighter Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis could be the next big star of cage and screen.
When World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight contender Anthony Pettis steps in the cage, it doesn’t take long to figure out how he earned the nickname ‘Showtime’.
Whether it’s the flashy blend of devastating speed and powerful Muay Thai strikes Pettis showed in his recent wins over Alex Karalexis and Danny Castillo, capoeira-inspired kicks, or his rapidly improved grappling prowess evident in an August ‘Submission of the Night’ win over fellow top contender Shane Roller, the Roufusport Academy fighter always brings a crowd-pleasing attack to the cage.
But while his fights have already been featured on both Versus and Spike TV, Showtime’s adding another appearance to his current television run with MTV’s new series World of Jenks.
“Thanks to [WEC public relations head] Dave Sholler, we’ve got a WEC fighter on MTV,” Pettis beamed. “It should be a really good show. It’s going to be really, really good for mixed martial arts and the WEC.”
A documentary-style series hosted by critically acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Jenks (The Zen of Bobby V), World of Jenks debuted September 13. According to MTV, the series “showcases the lives of inspirational young people from all corners of the US” Pettis is featured in a season-one episode.
For his look into the daily grind of a mixed martial artist, the portion of Pettis’ life Jenks elected to share was the days leading up to Showtime’s March victory over Castillo. It was less than three months since Pettis had been handed his first – and to date only – loss, and the Wisconsin resident was anxious to prove his WEC debut was a poor representation of what he had to offer.
“It was crazy,” Pettis said. “You’ve got cameras in your face all day for 11 days. I was just coming off a loss. I had lost to Bart Palaszewski, and it was my first loss of my career. “Getting the win that night was a perfect finish for me. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
Pettis’ loss to Palszewski at WEC 45 in December 2009 was via razor-thin split decision. The only other split decision of Pettis’ career saw him walk away with a victory. The 23-year-old says the loss to ‘Bartimus’ provided him with lessons needed to reach the pinnacle of the sport.
“It hurt,” Pettis admitted. “But going through your first loss makes you really change as a person and as a fighter. Bart Palaszewski is a tough dude; he stood in there with me for three rounds. But I let it go to the judges, so it’s my fault for letting it go that far. “
Unfortunately for Castillo, Karalexis and Roller, Pettis hasn’t yet made that mistake again. All three were finished, and, in addition to his recent ‘Submission of the Night’ bonus, Pettis also picked up a ‘Knockout of the Night’ award with MTV crews rolling tape.
“After losing to Bart, I didn’t lose confidence,” Pettis said. “I went home, I fixed a couple of things up, and I’m focused on finishing fights now. I don’t want it to go to the judges ever again. I don’t train for a game plan. My game plan is to be a better fighter than my opponent all-around. I’m not coming in saying, ‘I’m going to jab-cross-hook this guy to death.’ I’m just going to be a better fighter. I’m going to beat him to every position.”
And he’s done exactly that. Pettis has skyrocketed to the top of the WEC’s lightweight division and is expected to challenge reigning kingpin Ben Henderson for his title later this year.
With his budding career, crowd-pleasing style, million-dollar smile and contendership status, Pettis’ star is burning brighter by the moment. And with his increasingly familiar profile featured more and more every day across a variety of platforms, Showtime may soon be known as ‘Check Your Local Listings’.
