'Boogeyman' Sergio Pettis Ready For Joseph Benavidez At UFC 225
Sergio Pettis (16-3) discusses his upcoming fight against fellow flyweight Joseph Benavidez (25-4) at UFC 225 in Chicago on June 9. Pettis also talks about his loss to Henry Cejudo in December, his training camp for this fight, and more.
Interview Highlights
On Turnaround For UFC 225
"Definitely looking to get in there sooner obviously, man. I'm healthy, young, hungry — after that last fight especially, I'm very hungry. I took an 'L,' so I wanted to get back in sooner, but it played out right. I got a good fight, No. 1 in my division, Joseph Benavidez, very excited, got me amped right away when I got the call. My heart was pounding. I'm ready, man."
On Loss To Henry Cejudo At UFC 218
"That fight taught me a lot. I wasn't ready for that fight. I had a lot of things going on in life that I needed to figure out, and trying to balance that with the fight life is a little hard. I had to figure that out, [but] I got it all figured out. It made me feel something I've never felt, something that I can take with me for the rest of my fight career and hopefully improve on too."
How Benavidez Fight Came Together
"At first, I was trying to get a fight with [Jussier] Formiga. He just won his fight [in] pretty nice fashion — spinning back fist to a rear-naked choke. I was definitely calling him out, and Benavidez just healed up, so I was like, 'Hell yeah I'll take that fight. Whoever you guys give me, I'm here to fight them all, the best of the best.' And Joseph Benavidez is one of the best, so I'm excited, man."
On Benavidez Matchup
"I think I match up pretty well against him. I think he's going to feel a little bit uncomfortable. I make these guys feel uncomfortable to where they have to get me down on the floor. That fight with Cejudo kind of made me realize that. I am kind of a boogeyman. People are scared of me and they got to take me down to beat me. We match up very well. He's going to push the pace. I'm going to be out there trying to win. I think it's going to be an interesting fight for both of us."