Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Lightweights

10. Anthony Pettis

Our first entry is a very curious case. Like several other Top 10 fighters we've come across in these lists, his ranking when he first became champion would have been much higher than it is now. However, it's hard to think of a quicker, more dramatic and earlier fall from the elite than what Pettis has experienced. Let's go back to the beginning of 2015. Pettis was a sterling 18-2 and just about to turn 28 years old. He had captured the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title by stopping all-time legend Benson Henderson in the first round, then defended the throne against another great in Gilbert Melendez, submitting him in Round 2. This was on top of an earlier 5-round decision over Henderson to win the World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight crown, a split decision over Jeremy Stephens, and first round knockouts of Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon. His only two losses were a split decision against Bart Palaszewski all the way back in 2009 that most people thought Pettis had won anyway and a decision loss in 2011 to ultra-tough Clay Guida, who was a contender at the time. As 2015 dawned, the sky appeared to be the limit for Pettis, a new breed of super-athletic striker and submission artist who had a chance to go down as one of the greatest of all time. And yet, bizarrely, it was all downhill from there. Pettis had occasional flashes of success, like a submission over a young Charles Oliveira (then in the midst of a 2-4 stretch) at 145 pounds, a decision over Jim Miller, an awesome first-round submission over Michael Chiesa, and that outstanding Superman punch knockout of Stephen Thompson at 170 pounds, but more often than not, Pettis was losing badly. Opponents such as Rafael dos Anjos, who defeated him for the title, Eddie Alvarez, Edson Barboza, Max Holloway at 145 pounds, Dustin Poirier, Tony Ferguson and Nate Diaz all beat Pettis, and most of those bouts weren't close. Some weren't even competitive. It's one thing to be defeated by those famous names, but Pettis, before he had even turned 33, also suffered a submission loss to Diego Ferreira, and lost by decision by the likes of Clay Collard, Raush Manfio, and Stevie Ray twice. It's been a fast fall from grace, but over his career, Pettis has done just enough to make this list.

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