Currently signed to the WEC, Anthony Pettis is a lightweight prospect currently fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin as part of the Roufusport Camp. Appropriate nicknamed "Showtime", Pettis is a self professed "flashy fighter" who is constantly pushing the pace and looking to finish in spectacular fashion. Pettis is a very motivated fighter who has dedicated his fighting career to the memory of his father who was killed during a robbery. He has tremendous heart and toughness, and actually badly dislocated his shoulder in his third pro fight against Mike Lambrecht (see below) but showed the wherewithal and mental fortitude to come back and win with a highlight reel headkick knockout.

Pettis does have a tae kwon do background, which combined with his training under renowned kickboxing coach Duke Roufus has translated into a very impressive standup arsenal as he shows excellent potential in his striking. Pettis moves well and shows great footwork and agility on his feet, and is a very quick and shifty fighter who makes it hard for his opponents to get their timing right on him. A very aggressive striker, Pettis is not afraid to take risks on his feet and always goes right for the kill - looking to finish in impressive fashion. He has fast hands, an excellent right cross, dangerous knees in the clinch and comes in from all angles making good use of his kicks, knees, punches and elbows standing (he actually makes a very conscious effort to work elbows into his striking repertoire and has done so fairly effectively). Most impressive about his standup has been Pettis' wide assortment of kicks, as leg kicks, body kicks, spinning back kicks and jumping switch kicks are all effectively worked into his standup game. Pettis also has explosive high kicks that he throws with great frequency and from both sides, that are delivered with incredible quickness and significant power (see bouts with Lambrecht and Wallbridge below). Overall, Pettis is able to effortlessly string together kicks and punches showing well rounded, diverse striking skills and a standup game that blends and flows between itself very well. As talented as he is, one concern is that his aggressive style will leave him susceptible against strong counter punchers and that's something that should be closely monitored going forward.

To compliment his abilities on his feet, Pettis also shows good - albeit still developing ground skills and a dangerous submission game. His submission awareness is excellent, and being an aggressive fighter who's always looking to finish he immediately transitions from striking to grappling when he sees openings. Pettis is not a physically imposing or powerful grappler, wrestling isn't a strong point in his game and he can be slammed and taken to the ground but his guard game has been impressive. He is always moving and is very difficult to control and shows good sweeps and dangerous submissions off his back. A very active grappler, Pettis is always searching for subs and sweeps and does well to keep his opponents off balance and reacting instead of the other way around. It would obviously be tremendous for his overall game if he could improve his wrestling and takedown defense to the point where he is able to control the fight and dictate where it takes place, but realistically his grappling potential lies in how well he can compensate for his shortcomings as a wrestler by improving the rest of his ground game and especially his guard game, and he has shown excellent progression in that regard.