All in the family: Sergio Pettis makes octagon debut at UFC 167

It was only this past week that Sergio Pettis told MMAjunkie.com Radio that he believed he was “ready to step up to the next level.”

That next level came quickly.

Pettis (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), the younger brother of UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, has signed with the UFC and will make his debut with the promotion in November. Sources close to the fighter confirmed his signing to MMAJunkie.com following an initial report from Combate.

The Combate report said Pettis will make his UFC debut at UFC 167 as a bantamweight, moving up from his current flyweight home. While MMAjunkie.com could not immediately confirm the change in division, Pettis told MMAjunkie.com Radio this past week that he was considering a move up to bantamweight.

In addition, Pettis’ opponent at UFC 167 is not yet known.

UFC 167 takes place Nov. 16 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and Facebook.

The 20-year-old Pettis just this past weekend submitted James Porter in the first round of a North American Fighting Championship event in his home city of Milwaukee. The Duke Roufus-trained fighter in June stayed unbeaten with a first-round TKO of Dillard Pegg to win Resurrection Fighting Alliance’s flyweight title.

Pettis turned pro in 2011 and in two years has quickly gone 9-0 with three knockouts, three submissions and three decision victories, all unanimous. Because of the easy association with his brother, Pettis has been talked about for an eventual move to the UFC essentially from the time of his first pro fight.

This past week on MMAjunkie.com Radio, Pettis said he wanted to get to the UFC quickly.

“That’s what I’m hoping for, and I’m ready to step up to the next level,” Pettis told MMAjunkie.com Radio. “This is the time to do it. I’m young, and why waste my youth?”

With Pettis’ addition to the card, UFC 167, the promotion’s 20th anniversary show, now includes:

• Champ Georges St-Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks – for welterweight title
• Rashad Evans vs. Chael Sonnen
• Frank Mir vs. Alistair Overeem
• Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald
• Josh Koscheck vs. Tyron Woodley
• Donald Cerrone vs. Evan Dunham
• Brian Ebersole vs. Rick Story
• Edwin Figueroa vs. Erik Perez
• Ed Herman vs. Rafael Natal
• Ali Bagautinov vs. Tim Elliott
• Sergio Pettis vs. TBA*

* Not officially announced

For more on UFC 167, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.