Sergio Jerome Pettis (born August 18, 1993) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who is currently signed with Bellator MMA, where he is the current Bellator Bantamweight Champion. Prior to signing with Bellator, Pettis competed in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC), where he fought in both the Bantamweight and

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of b ...

divisions. As of December 13, 2022, he is #8 in the Bellator men's pound-for-pound rankings. He holds notable victories over

Kyoji Horiguchi is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator MMA and Rizin FF in the Flyweight division. He is the former bantamweight champion in both organizations. As of December 13, 2022, he is #6 in the Bellator Bantamweight Rankings ...

, Joseph Benavidez, Juan Archuleta, and

Brandon Moreno Brandon Carrillo Moreno (born December 7, 1993) is a Mexican professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Flyweight Champion, and the cu ...

Background

Pettis was born on January 27, 1987, to Annette (née Garcia) and Eugene Pettis Jr. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Along with his older brother former UFC Lightweight Champion

Anthony Pettis Anthony Paul Pettis (born January 27, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to the Professional Fighters League. Pettis formerly fought in the Welterweight, Lightweight, and Featherweight divisions of th ...

, who competes in the lightweight division, and oldest brother Reynaldo Pettis, he grew up in the south side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Pettis is descended from Mexicans, with his mother being Mexican and his father being Puerto Rican. To escape prejudice, his grandpa Eugenio Pérez anglicised the family name from Pérez to Pettis. Pettis was a student at

Pius XI High School Pius XI High School is a private Catholic high school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Its enrollment is approximately 900. History Pius XI High School, named in honor of Pope Pius XI, was foun ...

. Pettis' father was fatally stabbed by a robber on November 12, 2003, at a friend's residence.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Pettis turned pro on September 10, 2011, against Kyle Vivian at Canadian Fighting Championship 7. He won via TKO in the first round. On January 7, 2012, Sergio took on Mike Lindquist at Madtown Throwdown 26. He won via submission in round one. Pettis fought Tom McKenna at LFC 53. He won via first round submission. Pettis then took on Tony Zelinski at NAFC: Unleashed. He won via second-round TKO. Pettis took on Chris Haney at NAFC: Colosseum. He won via unanimous decision. In his next fight, Pettis defeated Jimmy Jones via unanimous decision at RFA 4-Griffin vs Escudero. Pettis was originally set to face Matt Manzanares at Resurrection Fighting Alliance 7, but Manzanares was forced out of the bout due to injury. RFA could not find another opponent for Sergio, therefore the bout was scrapped. Pettis is now set to face Josh Robinson at NAFC: Battleground. Pettis improved his record to an unblemished 7–0 with the unanimous decision victory. Resurrection Fighting Alliance announced that Pettis will take on UFC vet

Jeff Curran Jeffrey Michael Curran (born September 2, 1977) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 1998, Curran has fought at a number of different weight classes for a large number of promotions includin ...

for the inaugural RFA Flyweight Championship at RFA 8 on June 21, 2013, inside the historic The Rave/Eagles Club Milwaukee, Wisc. Curran was forced out of the bout due to personal reasons, RFA President Ed Soares reported that Dillard Pegg will take his place and fight Pettis for the flyweight title. He won via KO in the first round to win the RFA flyweight title. Pettis faced James Porter for the NAFC Bantamweight Championship, at NAFC: Battle in the Ballroom on September 28, 2013. Pettis won via first round submission and was subsequently signed by the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Pettis was expected to make his promotional debut against Vaughan Lee in a bantamweight bout on November 16, 2013, at

UFC 167 ''UFC 167: St-Pierre vs. Hendricks'' was a mixed martial arts event held on November 16, 2013, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Background The event commemorated the organization's 20th anniversary. The main event was a ...

. A week before the fight Lee was forced out of the bout due to injury and was replaced by Will Campuzano. Pettis won the fight via unanimous decision. In his second UFC bout, Pettis faced Alex Caceres at UFC on Fox 10 on January 25, 2014. He lost the back-and-forth fight via rear-naked choke submission late in the third round. Despite the loss, Pettis won a ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award for the bout. Pettis faced Yaotzin Meza on June 7, 2014, at UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Khabilov. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Pettis faced

Matt Hobar Matthew Hobar (born January 7, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the UFC's bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, Hobar also formerly competed for Legacy Fighting Championship and Shark Fights. He is ...

on December 6, 2014, at

UFC 181 ''UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler II'' was a mixed martial arts event held on December 6, 2014, at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background UFC 181 was the organization's 300th event and was expected to be headlined by a Middlew ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. The bout also earned Pettis his second ''Fight of the Night'' bonus award. Pettis faced Ryan Benoit in a flyweight bout on March 14, 2015, at UFC 185. After winning the first round, Pettis was dropped by left hook and finished off with a flurry of ground and pound from Benoit in the second round. Pettis faced

Chris Cariaso Chris Vincent Cariaso (born May 27, 1981) is a retired Filipino-American mixed martial artist who competed as a Flyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Personal Cariaso is of Filipino descent. Mixed martial arts career Since turning p ...

on October 3, 2015, at

UFC 192 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Pettis faced Chris Kelades on April 23, 2016, at UFC 197. Pettis won the fight by unanimous decision. Sergio was dominating most of the exchanges and defending takedowns by attacking the neck. He stunned Moraga many times and arguably won all 3 rounds. Pettis called out Jussier Formiga in his post fight interview. Pettis was expected to face Louis Smolka on October 1, 2016, at

UFC Fight Night 96 ''UFC Fight Night: Lineker vs. Dodson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 96'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on October 1, 2016, at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Background The even ...

. However, Pettis pulled out of the fight during the week leading up to the event citing what his trainer described as "a minor injury" and was replaced by promotional newcomer Brandon Moreno. Pettis was expected to face

Jussier Formiga Jussier da Silva Viera Formiga (born April 14, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Formiga most notably competed in the UFC and is the former Shooto South Ameri ...

on January 15, 2017, at

UFC Fight Night 103 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. However, Formiga pulled out of the fight in late December and was replaced by

John Moraga John Anthony Moraga (born March 20, 1984) is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who competes as a flyweight and featherweight in MMA and boxing, respectively. He is best known for his lengthy career Ultimate Fighting Champio ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Pettis was expected to face

Henry Cejudo Henry Cejudo (born February 9, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler. He is the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight Champion and Bantamweight Champion. He is the fourth UFC fighter to h ...

on May 13, 2017, at

UFC 211 ''UFC 211: Miocic vs. dos Santos 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on May 13, 2017, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Background The event was the fourth that the UFC has host ...

. However, on May 10, Cejudo pulled out of the fight with a hand injury and the bout was canceled. Pettis faced

on August 5, 2017, in the main event at

UFC Fight Night 114 ''UFC Fight Night: Pettis vs. Moreno'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 114'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on August 5, 2017, at Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, Mexico. Background A f ...

. He won the bout via unanimous decision. A rescheduled fight with Cejudo took place on December 2, 2017, at UFC 218. Pettis lost the fight by unanimous decision. Pettis faced Joseph Benavidez on June 9, 2018, at UFC 225. He won the back-and-forth fight via split decision. Pettis faced

on October 6, 2018, at

UFC 229 ''UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor ''was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that was held on October 6, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United St ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision After the fight, Pettis' head coach Duke Roufus announced that Sergio is returning to the bantamweight division. Pettis faced

Rob Font Rob Font (born June 25, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2011, Font formerly competed for CES M ...

in a bantamweight bout, on December 15, 2018, at UFC on Fox 31. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Pettis was expected to face Ricardo Ramos on June 29, 2019, at

UFC on ESPN 3 ''UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. dos Santos'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 3'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 29, 2019, at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Background Th ...

. However, on June 15, 2019, it was reported that Pettis pulled out of the bout due to injury. Pettis was scheduled to face Alex Perez on September 21, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 17. However, Perez pulled out of the bout on August 26 citing an injury, and he was replaced by

Tyson Nam Tyson Ka'eo Nam (born October 6, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division for UFC. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, Nam has formerly competed for World Series of Fighting, Elite ...

. Pettis won the fight by unanimous decision. Pettis was scheduled to face

Kai Kara-France James Kaiwhare Kara-France (born March 26, 1993) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of August 1, 2022, he is #3 in the UFC flyweight ...

on December 14, 2019, at

UFC 245 ''UFC 245: Usman vs. Covington'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 14, 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. B ...

. Later, news surfaced that Pettis fought out his contract with his previous fight with Nam, and is testing free agency.

Bellator MMA

On October 24, 2019, it was announced that Pettis signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA. Pettis made his promotional debut at Bellator 238 on January 25, 2020, against Alfred Khashakyan. He was victorious via first round technical submission. Pettis faced Ricky Bandejas on July 24 at Bellator 242. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Pettis faced Juan Archuleta for the

Bellator Bantamweight World Championship Bellator MMA (formerly known as "Bellator Fighting Championships") is an American mixed martial arts promotion, and the following is a history of its champions in each weight class. At the time of its inception in 2008, CEO Bjorn Rebney founded B ...

at Bellator 258 on May 7, 2021. Pettis won the bout and the title by unanimous decision. Pettis made his first title defense against

on December 3, 2021, at Bellator 272. After losing the first three rounds, Pettis came back to win the fight via knockout in round four.

Title Reign and Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix

As his first title defense and also the first round bout of the $1 million Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix Tournament, Pettis was scheduled to face Raufeon Stots on April 23, 2022, at Bellator 279. However Pettis was forced to pull out of the bout and the Grand Prix after sustaining an injury that required surgery.

Personal life

Sergio is the youngest brother of

Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the '' Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...

and Rey Pettis. Sergio graduated from Pius XI Catholic High School located in Milwaukee, WI in June 2012. On November 23, 2003, their father, Eugene Pettis, Jr., was stabbed to death by a robber at a friend's house.

Championships and achievements

Mixed martial arts

* Bellator MMA **

(One time, current) ***One successful title defense *

** Fight of the Night (Two times) vs. Alex Caceres, Matt Hobar *

Resurrection Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

**RFA Flyweight Championship (One time, First) *North American Fighting Championship **NAFC Bantamweight Championship (One time) *Cageside Press **Comeback of the Year 2021 (tied w/ Charles Oliveira) vs. Kyoji Horiguchi *

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

**2021 Finish of the Year vs.

* CBS Sports **2021 Bellator Knockout of the Year vs.

**2021 Bellator Fighter of the Year (tied with A.J. McKee) * MMAjunkie.com **2021 December Knockout of the Month vs.

**2021 Knockout of the Year vs.

**2021 Comeback of the Year vs.

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

**2021 Knockout of the Year vs.

*LowKick MMA **2021 Comeback of the Year vs.

*MMASucka **2021 Knockout of the Year vs.

**2021 Comeback of the Year vs.

*Combat Press **2021 Comeback of the Year vs.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 22–5 ,

, KO (spinning backfist) , Bellator 272 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 3:24 , Uncasville, Connecticut, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 21–5 , Juan Archuleta , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 258 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 , Uncasville, Connecticut, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 20–5 , Ricky Bandejas , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 242 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Uncasville, Connecticut, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–5 , Alfred Khashakyan , Technical Submission (guillotine choke) , Bellator 238 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:00 , Inglewood, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

, Mexico , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fox: Lee vs. Iaquinta 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–3 , Joseph Benavidez , Decision (split) , UFC 225 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC 218 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Pettis vs. Moreno , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 15–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Penn , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2 , Chris Kelades , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 197 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Houston, Texas, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–2 , Ryan Benoit , TKO (punches) , UFC 185 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:34 ,

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Yaotzin Meza , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Khabilov , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–1 , Alex Caceres , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Thomson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:39 ,

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–0 , Will Campuzano , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , James Porter , Submission (kimura) , NAFC: Battle in the Ballroom , September 28, 2013 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:33 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Dillard Pegg , TKO (punches) , RFA 8 , June 21, 2013 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:51 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Josh Robinson , Decision (unanimous) , NAFC: Battleground , March 29, 2013 , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Jimmy Jones , Decision (unanimous) , RFA 4 , November 2, 2012 , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Tom McKenna , Submission (guillotine choke) , LOF 53: Memorium , June 16, 2012 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:52 ,

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Chris Haney , Decision (unanimous) , NAFC: Colosseum , May 4, 2012 , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Mike Lindquist , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Madtown Throwdown 26: The Return , January 7, 2012 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:43 ,

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Tony Zelinski , TKO (head kick) , NAFC: Unleashed , November 18, 2011 , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:59 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Kyle Vivian , TKO (head kick) , CFC 7 , September 10, 2011 , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:46 ,

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Canada , , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pettis, Sergio 1993 births American male mixed martial artists American male taekwondo practitioners Sportspeople from Milwaukee Mixed martial artists from Wisconsin American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent American mixed martial artists of Mexican descent Flyweight mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Living people Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters

Background

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Bellator MMA

Title Reign and Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix

Personal life

Championships and achievements

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links