Anthony Pettis thinks UFC 206 opponent Max Holloway has been aping his style

TORONTO – Anthony Pettis believes Max Holloway has built a fighting style largely based off what he’s done inside the octagon in the UFC and WEC over the past seven years.

Pettis (19-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC), who fights Holloway (16-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) for the interim UFC featherweight title in Saturday’s UFC 206 main event, said he sees pieces of himself in the way “Blessed” competes. For that reason, he said it made preparation for the bout much easier.

“Max, he does a lot of the stuff that I do,” Pettis told reporters at today’s UFC 206 open workouts. “I watch his fights and you can tell he’s been studying my fight style, even before he was set to fight me. A lot of stuff I do in certain situations, he does it. I think it’s easy to game plan for somebody like that. I know what he’s looking for, I know what he’s trying to do and I know what the outcome is if it does happen.”

UFC 206 takes place at Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Originally Pettis vs. Holloway was slated as a three-round co-headliner for the card. But when UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier suffered an injury and was forced out of his match-up with Anthony Johnson, the UFC opted to promote Pettis and Holloway to the top of the card and put an interim 145-pound title on the line.

There fallout from that decision was widespread, because former featherweight champ Conor McGregor was stripped of the title, and former interim champ Jose Aldo was promoted to McGregor’s previous position, despite “The Notorious” knocking the Brazilian out in just 13 seconds at UFC 194 in December.

The entire situation has resulted in much criticism about whether a belt – interim or not – should be up for grabs at UFC 206. Pettis said the decision was made entirely by the UFC brass, and while he won’t feel like the true champion with a win, he sees the positive side of his circumstance.

“It wasn’t my decision to make this a title fight,” Pettis said. “But Merry Christmas to me; thank you. This is a good early Christmas gift to myself. To me this is a guaranteed title shot. You never know because in the UFC they can say, ‘You win your next fight and you get a title shot.’ Then you won’t see one for two years. This right here is a guaranteed shot at one of the goals I want to accomplish, to be a two-division champion.

“It’s a golden ticket to that next step then getting the featherweight belt. Obviously you can’t erase what the world saw Conor McGregor do to Jose Aldo, but at this point in my career there’s a lot of great matchups that can happen, at 145, 155. I just got to stay focused and get my mind right and feel the way I’m feeling right now.”

Pettis, the former UFC lightweight champion and No. 9 fighter in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings, said he isn’t going to complain about the situation, because it’s a big opportunity for him. “Showtime” has only won one fight at 145 pounds, and prior to that had suffered three consecutive losses. So to get into a title fight at this point is expediting his development in the new weight class.

No. 2-ranked Holloway won’t be a pushover, though, because “Blessed” brings nine consecutive octagon victories into the contest. Pettis said he has what it takes to stop that winning streak, especially because in the featherweight division he gains significant attributes that were not on his side during his tenure at lightweight.

“The cut to 145, it levels the playing field,” Pettis said. “I’m just as big as these guys, I’m stronger and they’re not going to hold me on the canvas, they’re not going to hold me on the cage because they don’t have the strength to do it.”

“I think the first time was about figuring it out, this time I came in 10 pounds over weight. I’m ready to roll. I have my nutritionist living with me for seven weeks and it made the process a lot easier.”

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