Expect The Return Of ‘Showtime’ From Anthony Pettis On Friday Night

This time around, Anthony Pettis promises a different approach, and that approach can be summed up with one word: showtime.

In his last fight versus Stevie Ray in June, the MMA superstar known as “Showtime” played it safe, got trapped in a body triangle and tapped out. Now Pettis and Ray will battle again just a few weeks after their first fight because that’s how the season-based Professional Fighters League works.

Pettis (25-13) vs. Ray (24-10) will headline the PFL playoffs Friday night at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. The main card will start at 8 p.m. ET and feature semifinals in the lightweight and light heavyweight divisions and air on ESPN and ESPN+; prelims will start at 6 p.m.

In the win-and-advance format, Pettis predicts a different result this go-around. “Now that I’m here in the playoffs, this fight really matters to me. I’ve got to win this one,” he told the Associated Press.

He called his first fight with Ray “a freebie fight” because he had already qualified for the playoffs. “It was kind of like a fight that was just there and I didn’t want to get hurt,” Pettis said.

Now the narrative has shifted for Pettis, who’s in a must-win scenario if he wants to continue on his quest for the 155-pound championship and $1 million prize.

The 35-year-old Pettis is typically an open-stance fighter known for dazzling moves and strikes. Hence, his well-earned monicker. Against Ray, he fought for points and used a cautious closed-stance approach.

Pettis — who’s the only MMA athlete to grace a Wheaties box — made a big promise for his rematch against Ray: “This fight, I’m fighting out of my mouthpiece and looking for the knockout.”

In the other lightweight semifinal Friday, Olivier Aubin-Mercier fights Alexander Martinez. The light heavyweight semifinals are also scheduled with Robert Wilkinson vs. Delan Monte and Omari Akhmedov vs. Josh Silveira.

Two more PFL postseason cards this month are scheduled for Cardiff, Wales, and in London.

But back to Friday night: Out of all the combatants, it may be Pettis who has the biggest goal. He is a former UFC and WEC lightweight champion but has struggled since joining the PFL last year. His legacy goal to win the lightweight crown in all three leagues remains at stake.

“That’s all that I want, man — a third title — to add to my legacy,” Pettis said.