Anthony Pettis Anxious to Return But It Won’t Be Before September

Anthony Pettis is anxious to get back in the cage, but won’t do so before he’s 100-percent healthy and that means he won’t be fighting prior to September.

The former WEC champion has been sidelined since having shoulder surgery earlier this year to fix a nagging injury, and is targeting a late summer return to the Octagon.

Pettis’ manager Mike Roberts of MMA Inc. informed MMAWeekly.com that the fighter’s recovery is speeding along, but a return prior to September won’t be possible.

The significance of the timing is because of the conversation had following UFC on Fuel 3 when a victorious Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone was asked about possibly facing Pettis, and while the Greg Jackson trained fighter was all for the fight, he was hopeful for a date on UFC 150 landing in his hometown of Denver.

Cerrone mentioned several times following his win over Jeremy Stephens in Virginia that he was gunning for a shot at the Aug 11 card in his home state of Colorado.

But if Cerrone has Pettis targeted as a potential opponent, it won’t be in Denver.

According to Pettis’ manager, the Milwaukee based lightweight is still hopeful for a No. 1 contender’s showdown with Nate Diaz, but as of right now the former Ultimate Fighter winner is resigned to waiting for the winner of the UFC 150 main event between Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar.

Should Diaz change his mind however and opt to fight, Pettis would be more than happy to accept the challenge.

If not, Pettis will still look to fight in September against any top ranked lightweight with his eyes set on a title shot in the near future.

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