Anthony Pettis will be returning to the Octagon sooner than many expected. The former lightweight champion has struggled in the past few years with his inability to string together a series of wins. Pettis has gone 5-10 since he won the UFC lightweight championship. However, his last fight was a win over long-time contender Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.

After Leon Edwards had to pull out of his fight against Khamzat Chimaev due to a positive COVID test, the UFC had an open spot on the card. Unable to find a replacement to fight Khamzat, Pettis is stepping in to face Alex Morono. Morono is an 11-fight UFC veteran with wins over the likes of Josh Burkman and Max Griffin. His last fight was a win over Rhys McKee.

The pair will meet on the December 19 card, which will serve as the final UFC event for 2020. The card is absolutely stacked with high-stake non-title matches, and it was really sad to see Edwards pull out of his anticipated bout with Chimaev. However, Pettis and Morono will add something to the card after that loss.

Pettis is number twelve in the welterweight rankings, while Morono is still unranked.

Anthony Pettis re-establishes himself on this showcase?

Anthony Pettis has stayed active as a fighter even as his record slumped. However, this is a much better matchup than his last few. While he did beat Stephen Thompson with a wonderful superman punch KO, losses to Nate Diaz and Diego Ferreira served him a harsh reality check. Beating Cerrone was impressive, but Cowboy did head into that fight on a three-fight slump.

Morono is yet to face elite competition in the UFC, despite being here for so long. Pettis is really the first big test for the 30-year-old for whom and is an opportunity to prove that he is elite and belongs amidst the top stars of the division. If not that, at least he can become a ranked competitor.

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Hopefully, this fight serves as an entertaining bout that lessens the pain of having lost the Edwards-Chimaev matchup. Will Pettis get two wins in a row for the first time since 2014, or will Morono establish himself as a ranked competitor?