The combat sports world, especially the MMA world, lost a very influential figure in the sport. Brendan Allen, who teamed with Roufusport MMA for his fight against Reinier de Ridder, paid tribute to head coach Duke Roufus after his win at UFC Vancouver. Roufus, who passed away on Thursday at 55, has left many people in sorrow, including one of his most decorated fighters and proteges, Anthony Pettis.

Anthony Pettis has trained under Duke Roufus for most of his fighting career, from 2007 to the present day. His brother Sergio Pettis also fought, representing Roufusport. For ‘Showtime’, Roufus was more than a coach; he was a father figure. As such, the death has taken a heavy toll on Anthony, who recently shared a video on Instagram, and his face indicated how big a hole Roufus has left not only in mixed martial arts but also in his life.

However, Anthony Pettis had his daughter to cheer him up. The video he posted on Instagram was captioned, “She [his daughter] is helping me get thru this,” highlighting the comfort his daughter has given him after his coach’s untimely passing. In the video, the comforting love was apparent between the two, as Pettis’s daughter said, “Hi everybody, I love my papa.”

Anthony Pettis has shared more than just one post regarding his coach. In another Instagram post, he wrote, “You were Always in my corner, the moment we won the belt in Milwaukee,” reminiscing about the time when he won his first UFC title. Duke Roufus was with him that night at UFC 164 in 2013 when Pettis submitted Benson Henderson in the first round to win the lightweight title. In another post. Pettis shared the story of how Roufus became his father figure.

Anthony Pettis is thankful to Duke Roufus for taking him under his wing

Anthony Pettis is perhaps one of the most recognizable names in MMA. But behind the success, there painful story. In 2003, ‘Showtime’ and his brother’s lives changed forever after his father was fatally stabbed in a robbery. That left a big void in Pettis’s life, but he soon found Duke Roufus, who became, as we’ve mentioned above, a father figure for the former WEC and UFC lightweight champion.

An emotional Anthony Pettis recalled the moment when he met the Roufusport MMA coach and how they went on to collect multiple accolades in MMA later on. “When my dad was killed you took me in and became my father…. Together we did the impossible and made it to the top! I will always make you proud, you’ve taught me so much. I will make sure your legacy continues on,” Pettis wrote on Instagram.

It is apparent that all the fighters who trained under Duke Roufus loved and respected him. He didn’t just make champions like Belal Muhammad and Anthony Pettis, but also gave them an environment where they could grow both as fighters and as human beings. These fighters will surely keep carrying Roufus’s legacy forward, but it’s sad to see that the coach’s death has marked the end of an era in MMA.