Sergio Pettis will get a huge step up in competition on January 15th, as he’s set to face veteran flyweight contender Jussier Formiga at UFC Fight Night 103.
The UFC’s first event of 2017 just received an important matchup in the flyweight division. MMA Fighting reported on Monday that #15 ranked Sergio Pettis and #3 ranked Jussier Formiga will fight at UFC Fight Night in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday, January 15th. The night’s main card airs live on Fox Sports 1.
Pettis (14-2) is coming off a unanimous decision win over Chris Kelades at UFC 197. He also defeated former title challenger Chris Cariaso by decision at UFC 192. The 23-year-old, who is the younger brother of former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis, was scheduled to fight Louis Smolka at last month’s UFC Portland, but withdrew due to injury, and was replaced by Brandon Moreno, who would later upset Smolka by 1st round submission.
Formiga (19-4) last fought in September, beating Dustin Ortiz by unanimous decision. The victory over Ortiz was a bounce back performance after his decision loss to Henry Cejudo last November. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist is 5-3 inside the Octagon, and while he’s never challenged for Demetrious Johnson’s UFC title, he’s been “in the mix” for years, so if Pettis gets the win over Formiga, we have a new contender at 125 lbs.
UFC Fight Night 103 is headlined by a featherweight fight between Yair Rodriguez and BJ Penn. The card also includes a welterweight matchup between Ben Saunders and Court McGee, as well as lightweights Erik Koch and Tony Martin.
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