The best and worst of UFC 226

#2 Best: Could it be Showtime again?

Could Anthony Pettis be on a resurgence after tapping Michael Chiesa?

Coming into his fight with Michael Chiesa, the feeling was that former UFC Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis was probably shot as a fighter.

‘Showtime’ had never really looked comfortable in the cage since losing his title to Rafael Dos Anjos back in 2015, and despite a slight resurgence in 2017 in a win over Jim Miller, his last fight saw him lose to Dustin Poirier in brutal fashion.

Last night though saw somewhat of a return to form. Noted grappler Chiesa managed to largely ground and stifle Pettis in the first round – the preferred gameplan for most who’ve beaten Showtime over the years – but in the second round, the former champion seemed like a different animal entirely.

He dropped Chiesa with a right hand, followed that up with a flying knee, and when he couldn’t lock up a guillotine, he switched off to a triangle choke and forced Chiesa to tap out. It was Pettis’s first submission win since his career-high victory over Gilbert Melendez in December 2014.

Granted it wasn’t a flawless performance, and Pettis still didn’t look to be in the kind of chiselled shape that he was when he was champion, but it was still an impressive win, and as he’s still only 31, the idea that Showtime could be on a real return to form is interesting indeed.