Former UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis is out of his bout at PFL 4 against Alexander Martinez due to illness. The news first came forth via AG Fight and Pettis, who was raring to bounce back from his debut loss, will have to wait. Lightweight champion Natan Schulte will fill in for ‘Showtime’ at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City.

Chiefly, Pettis’ withdrawal wasn’t the only notable change on the card as 2019 featherweight champ Lance Palmer is out of PFL 4. He will take on Movlid Khaybulaev at PFL 6 and their original opponents will take on each other at PFL 4 instead. Despite the changes, the card is still stacked with exciting fighters like Bubba Jenkins and Clay Collard.

Not to mention, boxing ace Claressa Shields will finally make her debut in MMA against Brittney Elkin on the main card. Fans have been waiting to see what ‘T-Rex’ Shields brings to the table after training with the likes of Jon Jones in Albuquerque. Having ‘Showtime’ Pettis on the card would have gone a long way in bolstering the profile of the event.

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Anthony Pettis: ‘Showtime’ all over again

Pettis left the UFC and moved out to PFL despite being on a two-fight winning streak with the UFC. Much like his brother, Sergio Pettis, the move to part ways with the UFC was spurred due to money. Things have gone quite well for Sergio Pettis who recently picked up a world title at Bellator MMA.

Despite putting together some good wins, Anthony Pettis was unable to set up a meaningful run towards the end of his UFC tenure. He moved up to welterweight at one point and his KO win over Stephen Thompson was one for the ages. However, consistency remained a problem despite racking signature wins, prompting a move to a different setting.

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Anthony Pettis’ body of work speaks for itself, and his resume is as stacked as it comes. Not to mention, he holds a submission win over the current UFC lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira, albeit from 2016. The setback in his debut against Collard was merely a footnote in what is to be a lucrative run.

He still has a chance to make it into the playoffs despite suffering the aforementioned UD loss to Collard.

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