When Anthony Pettis had to pull out of his bout with Jose Aldo at UFC 163 because of an injury, he lobbied to get a fight with Benson Henderson. The lightweight champ is facing T.J. Grant at UFC 164 at the end of August in Milwaukee, which is Pettis' hometown.
"I'm not going to say I should be fighting and T.J. Grant didn't earn his shot," Pettis said on the MMA Hour. "T.J. Grant earned his shot, and he's there for a reason. I don't want the fans to think I'm trying to take his position or anything like that, but at the same time, you can't knock me for trying. I want a title shot so bad."
But MMA Fighting and ESPN report that Pettis won't be fighting that quickly as he learned Wednesday that his torn meniscus requires he sits out for six weeks. On the bright side, Pettis doesn't have to get surgery. He just has to rest the leg, which isn't easy for fighters trying to title shots.
When Pettis had to pull out of his bout with Aldo, Chan Sung Jung stepped in. He was scheduled for face Ricardo Lamas at UFC 162, but now "The Korean Zombie" is getting a title shot. Lamas was taken off of UFC 162, and the bout between Mark Munoz and Tim Boetsch was put on the main card.
This doesn't mean Pettis won't get a title shot in the future, but it's also not the first time he's been close to a title shot and lost it. After emerging from the WEC as its final lightweight champion, he was supposed to get a shot at the UFC lightweight champ, then Frankie Edgar.
However, a draw between Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar pushed Pettis' title shot to the backburner as they fought a rematch. In the meantime, Pettis fought and lost to Clay Guida, pushing him farther back in the title picture. He pushed for the featherweight shot after beating Donald Cerrone, and was so close to fighting Aldo for the belt when the injury struck.
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