Anthony Pettis responds to Gray Maynard: He's jealous of my level of success
Posted on May 16, 2011, 05:14 PM by Joey SantosusTop Lightweight contender Anthony Pettis, who was in attendance for a Xyience Energy Drink photo shoot, discusses the state of the 155-pound division and responds to Gray Maynard's claims that he's only looked good fighting "scrubs" in the WEC. "Showtime" admits that he was disappointed to hear that Edgar vs. Maynard III had been canceled, but assures that his focus remains on his upcoming bout with Clay Guida.
Pettis was originally expected to challenge the winner of January's Edgar-Maynard II in a bout that would unify the UFC and WEC Lightweight titles. In a rare turn of events, however, a winner failed to emerge from the UFC 125 match-up, setting up a third encounter between the two and leaving Pettis to wait in the wings. Eager to make his promotional debut though, the Roufusport product accepted the fight with Guida, who he will face at the TUF 13 Finale in June.
Comments
The WEC guys weren't scrubs (well some of them weren't). But if you look at Maynard's claim in context it makes sense. None of them were at Maynards level - and there's an element of truth in him saying there has been a dangerous amount of hype off one really cool kick.
I don't see Pettis as champion in the division as it stands. Too much top class competition. He's exciting to watch though.
the girl is hot
I see him as champion, he's better than gray on the feet and is very quick and skilled on the ground. Wrestling.. Get take Down Defense.. And pettis isn't a slouch or stupid.. I see him being the next champion.. Gilbert vs Pettis this time next year!
What Pettis is saying is true! Gray is jealous of the attention Pettis is getting because before the fight with Edgar( the second one) no one was putting attention on him , but thats his fault for winning competitions and not fights!
Maynard won his last 7 fights by Decision!
2 out of the 7 are split Decisions, he only use wrestling to control Huerta and could not submit him , beat Miller by Decision who i am not buying the hype of him being Top 10, the Diaz fight was horrible who won who knows how by Split Decision , and then the Florian fight were he only stand there for 4 mins and took him down in the last 60 secs to score and take the round on POINTS!
Plus he is not undefeated, he lost in TUF 5 twice!
he knock him self out vs Emerson and got Submit by Nate Diaz in the second round. The only fight that Maynard has actually proved himself was vs Edgar and Edgar is a Much smaller fighter!
Gray is already 32 , so he wont improve much from now on, his been fighting for 5 years and yet he looks like he cant even throw a kick not even a lowkick! never mind a head kick .
While Pettis is just 24 and already in the mix , with more attention because he actually fights! hes improving every fight. Potential and time is something that he has plenty while Gray just wont have.
with all the stuff you just said about maynard is actually make him look better! so what if he dosent throw kicks in his fights? so what if he wins by decision? there is still no one who can do a damn thing about it yet!!! Maynard have 1 of the fastest knockout in ufc history! and he got the 3rd longest win streak in the ufc! That is impressive man you just a hater thats all!
Gil and Pettis would be sick and yes that girl is hot haha.
Thts why maynard is the number 1 contender and the only guy to beat edgar. I also think guida will smash pettis.
Idk if Guida will smash Pettis....I got Pettis in that fight but it should b a amazing match, maybe even FOTY...if it is possible to put a better fight than Edgar/Maynard II these guys will do it
I believe Pettis is definitely Champion material. With that said, Guida is a wildcard. He's one of those guys who could possibly beat anyone on any given night. His issue has long been consistency tho. So yea, he might beat Pettis, just like I believe on the right night he could possibly beat Edgar or Maynard. You have to respect Pettis for not only taking a fight instead of waiting, but for asking to face a guy like Guida. Should be interesting.
Guida is now under Jackson and if his last fight was anything to go by, he has lost his wreckless edge and tightened up alot of his game. Tough fight for Pettis and one I think will be very tough if Guida brings the same composure and technique.
Gray beat them with his not so exciting fighting style which has received some criticism. That's why he is jealous. Pettis is exciting to watch and Gray is not.
I would argue that Maynard has had more success in his career, than pettis... The only reason Pettis is getting the attention, is because of that one kick. While it was amasing, i think he would get smothered by Gray.
This will make up for a good rivalry in the future!
Guess the only way to find out is to see how Pettis fairs in the ufc.
They may not be considered as the same level of competition at this present moment in time but to be fair to Pettis, three out his last four opponents from the wec all just beat ufc guys recently.
You cant say that the 'only reason' Pettis is getting the attention is because of his kick?
Are you forgetting that he was crowned the last wec champ and was promised the next title shot against frankie or gray?
roller's no bum, we saw in his last fight, danny castillo just beat joe stevenson, and ben henderson beat bocek who is also a toptier fighter and pettis convincingly beat all of them
pettis hasnt beated the best like gray has but still his record is good enough to be regarded
Yea, time will prove the level of fighter Pettis is. The people saying all of his respect and/or hype came from that one kick must be those who only know him from that one fight. Hardcore fans, who watched WEC consistently and not just the events that ZUFFA really got behind (i.e WEC 48 & 53) know that he has done much more to earn respect than just beat Bendo. After all, he was competing in that match for a reason.
yeah agree, its just not that one kick even though it did wonders for marketing
and also it probably all comes down to caliber of fighters in the WEC
and theyve been doing great so far
I must say he didn't convincingly beat Henderson the winner of the fifth round would have won the fight and it was a close round if showtime wouldn't of pulled of the kick but the WEC guys are definitely no bums.
the 5th round was the decider in that fight. but that can make it even more spectacular it was a close fight tough battle that all the way into the 5th round where maynard could barely move Pettis managed that kick. he landed a kick from a movie to win a fight. Pettis is ALOT more than just that kick. he's shown better takedown defense and ground work in every fight and his stand up is outstanding. i think he's going to make alot of noise in the LW division, he's still young and will IMO be the LW champ during his career
Just noticed that the reporter kinda looks like Sasha Grey :D
Who you've beaten isn't the be all and end all. The most important thing is what kind of a fighter you are now. Bendo proved against Bocek that he's a world class lightweight and Pettis proved against Bendo that he can beat those kind of guys. Objectively, Maynard's record is a lot more impressive. That's not to say Pettis has fought bad guys, just that Maynard has had to come up through a much deeper talent pool.
I think when you're as hungry as these two you're naturally gonna get annoyed and jealous when other people are spoken about as contenders.
gray is jealous for not getting kick in the face,rofl
Who's that Machida fellow, isn't he known for a single kick too?
I hate to break it to you Pettis, but Maynard's level of success is higher than yours. Hence, he has nothing to be jealous of.
In other news, Clay Guida is going to take you down repeatedly, beat you up and win a decision.
That girl looks like she could be Ariannys sister.
When did pettis get such a large fanbase? Let the fighting do the talking and stop argueing over who you "think" is better