Jesus, this is such a great fight! Shame that it isn't getting the credit it deserves. Pettis looks like nigh-on his old self (although his hands still need tightening up a lot, but when he was on his best day he was ruthless) whilst Ferg is an overlooked killer. I think Pettis has the better technique on the feet whilst Pettis is more creative and has more in his arsenal. But the ground game is where it gets interesting for me. Pettis is sick on the ground, just sick. Tony is absolutely vicious, too. Even a grappling match between these two would be awesome. I think Pettis via decision or Pettis via something flashy around R2. Lee, who is a great fighter, was catching Tony (mainly due to athleticism and some good kickboxing) but if Pettis catches Tony like that, and Tony can be a little bit static at times standing, then Pettis will exploit that providing Tony doesn't overwhelm him with his conditioning. It's fairly obvious that the winner fights the Conor/Khabib winner, but what a great round of fights it would be between all four! Pettis vs Conor would be sweet, and I think Pettis could well win that one. Ferg vs Khabib would be nasty and has been planned for ages. Ferg gets the win there, IMHO. Khabib/Pettis would be very interesting, too.
I heavily favour Tony here. Pettis has great kicks but his punches have never been great imo. Yes Pettis looked good last out against Chiesa but he was only fighting Michael Chiesa who is not a top fighter but otherwise Pettis has looked ordinary for years now.Tony is very unorthodox with everything and is tough as nails. Pettis has had a tendency to wilt in tough grueling fights such as against RDA. To win Pettis needs to hurt Tony early with one of his brutal kicks. Tony to win imo.
I am more of a boxing fan than a mma guy, but watch because of my son. Ferguson if healthy should take this one IMO. Pettis is solid but seeing him split his last 6 fights??? I think Ferguson picked the right guy if he wants the winner of Khabib vs Connor. I see Ferguson taking this...my son is a big Ferguson guy but thinks he rushed back and that Pettis will take it. For us this is the big fight tonight
