Anthony Pettis: 'Annoying' Khabib Nurmagomedov owns 'amateur level' striking

Anthony Pettis

UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis (18-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) is focused on his upcoming title defense with Rafael dos Anjos (23-7 MMA, 12-5 UFC). But with Khabib Nurmagomedov (22-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) lurking in the background, “Showtime” admits the Dagestani’s constant lurking is getting a little tiresome.

“He is definitely annoying,” Pettis told MMAjunkie.

But as annoyed as Pettis is by Nurmagomedov’s constant challenges, if the two are destined to meet, the champ said he’s not exactly worried.

“I feel like his striking is like an amateur level,” Pettis said. “He only gets by on his wrestling. He thinks his striking is going to be good enough to survive against me, take me down and grind me out for 25 minutes? He’s never done that. He’s never fought a main event for 25 minutes.

“Anybody can wrestle for 15 minutes, but it’s different when you’re fighting for the title. At the same time, his striking is amateur compared to where my wrestling us. My wrestling is on a way higher level than his striking if you want to compare the two.”

Of course, the Nurmagomedov bout could take place later this year, but right now, Pettis has dos Anjos on the horizon, as the two meet in the main event of UFC 185, which takes place March 14 at Dallas’ American Airlines Center. Oddsmakers have installed Pettis as a 3-to-1 favorite to win the fight, and as confident as the champ is in his chances, he does thing dos Anjos is a worthy adversary.

“Dos Santos is the only guy that beat both Ben Henderson and Donald Cerrone other than me, so I think he definitely has the skillset,” Pettis said. “He’s definitely flown under the radar, but I don’t know why. He’s a very good fighter. He dominated Nate Diaz. I don’t know why guys fly the radar like that.

“Maybe he doesn’t talk enough, but he definitely has skillset that is deserving of fighting for the title. That’s why I’m excited. He’s not going to just try and wrestle me. He’s going to try to go out and finish me, and that only makes me better. He’s going to go out there and try to knock me out, and I’m going try to knock him out.”

Pettis is currently viewed as the No. 5 fighter in the world in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA pound-for-pound rankings, and his stock is quickly rising with dominant performances, including a December win over Gilbert Melendez.

Injury woes over the past few years have slowed Pettis between fights, but he’ll have just three months between appearances when he steps into the cage against dos Anjos. While the UFC is certainly looking to have its superstars fight as frequently as possible in 2015, Pettis said the quick return to action was all his doing.

“I made it a point to fight as quickly as possible,” Pettis said. “Right after the fight, ‘I said I want another date ASAP.’ They tried to push me off to the summertime, and I said, ‘No.’

“I’m in my prime right now – 27 years old, feeling the best I’ve ever felt. I want to stay active. This may sound cocky, but it’s just my confidence: I feel like nobody in my division can really match with me. I can fight with these guys every few months. I think my skillset is at a different level than most guys, and I’m healthy enough to go out there and prove it.”

In his past four appearances, Pettis has earned stoppage wins over Melendez, Henderson, Cerrone and Joe Lauzon, and he does seem to be fighting better than ever. Nurmagomedov has never lost a fight, and with his knee quickly healing, he’s likely next for the winner of Pettis vs. dos Anjos.

If that’s the case, fine, says Pettis. Regardless of what Nurmagomedov might have you believe, the champ insists he’s certainly not afraid of a potential future matchup.

“He’s going to have to wait his turn,” Pettis said. “I’m going to take these fights one at a time. If I look at this division as a whole, I’ll never sleep. There’s so many killers out there. I’ve got to focus on what’s next, and that’s it.”

For more on UFC 185, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.