Escaping the Shadow: Sergio Pettis
Photo Credit: Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
Familial dynasties are a fascination to both pundits and fans alike, not just in combat sports but all sports. Whether it be football with the Manning dynasty, baseball with the DiMaggio brothers, or in basketball with the Gasol brothers, having a sibling in the same successful field often elevates both athletes in the eyes of fans. However in combat sports, the limelight tends to overwhelmingly favor one brother over the other. Despite being by far the better boxer, Michael Spinks has been seen as inconsequential in comparison to his brother Leon, mostly due to the latter’s victory over Muhammed Ali. In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Rafa Mendes far outshone Gui due to his dazzling highlight reels, despite Gui winning four IBJJF World Championships in his own right. Khaokor Galaxy might be the most egregious victim of the propensity to shun the less “exciting” brother due to Khaosai’s enormous punching power and unyielding charisma.
When any MMA fan thinks of the name Pettis, the elder’s title reign, assortment of highlight reel knockouts, and legacy will all come to the forefront before any mention of Sergio. These things tend to happen when your older sibling is capable of this:
The relation to Anthony probably hurt Sergio far more than it helped him throughout his career. In the lead up to his UFC debut, the hype building around the younger Pettis was out of control. It was expected if not demanded by fans and the UFC brass that Sergio would be a clone of the UFC Lightweight Champion, who could make the lower weight classes actually marketable in their eyes.
Unfortunately the younger Pettis was not blessed with the same level of jaw dropping athleticism possessed by his brother, especially in comparison to the fellow inhabitants of the flyweight and bantamweight weight classes. Yet necessity is the mother of invention and thus Sergio was forced to build the well rounded, cohesive strategy that many lament his brother for failing to do in order to survive the shark tank he resided in.
Pettis is primarily a counter striker, who uses excellent ringcraft to set up his primary counter, an orthodox cross. Fellow Fight Site analyst Aiden Hayes described the concept of using ringcraft effectively while being pressured, phenomenally by stating, “Retreating in a straight line means the exchange is always neutral. (In other words, both fighters are facing directly at each other.) In a neutral exchange, the attacking fighter can throw strikes at will. On the other hand, retreating on an angle gives the retreating fighter an advantage, as the pursuing fighter will have to constantly turn with their feet, angling with them in order to get into a range to land meaningful strikes.”
As a fighter who lacks the capability of scaring off opponents with power, it is absolutely essential for Pettis to force uneven exchanges. To accomplish this, Pettis will often throw the cross immediately when his opponent decides to blitz. This forces his hip to turn diagonally so that when he takes a step back he is angling off to his power side, forcing his opponent to circle into his power hand if they continue to chase while simultaneously preventing Pettis from being backed up against the fence. This tactic was highly effective against all-time great Joseph Benavidez, in the opening frame of their contest.
As Benavidez blitzes the first time, Pettis throws a cross and then uses his lead hand as a frame to line up Benavidez for a picture perfect cross while sidestepping to his right, ending the exchange. In the second blitz, Benavidez keeps his head toward Pettis’ left side and uses his left as a frame to prevent the initial cross from landing. Pettis however, resets the distance between him and his opponent by L stepping towards his power side, making the initial frame irrelevant and landing a knockdown.
For counter strikers, it is imperative that they are able to draw out reactions from their opponent in order to counter, as it is simply not feasible to consistently win rounds if you are content to let your opponent dictate the pace and volume. If a fighter is satisfied to just sit on the back foot and counter, without providing any volume or pressure as bait, eventually opponents will figure out that nothing is coming back their way if they do not wholly commit to strikes, allowing them to coast to wide decision victories, à la a certain former UFC welterweight kingpin.
Pettis relies on two main weapons to get his offense going, pressure and the jab. While neither of these weapons directly deliver significant strikes, Pettis is in his top form when he is able to build off the use of both tactics. It would be apt to describe his offense as a snowball rolling down a hill as once he is able enforce his jab and put pressure onto his opponents he is in the driver’s seat. This is most notable in the third round of his first and only UFC main event bout, against former and perhaps future flyweight title challenger Brandon Moreno.
From the beginning of the round, Pettis looked to put Moreno on the back foot by upping the pressure. By providing consistent pressure without the need to blitz, Pettis is able to draw out a reaction, which allows him to counter effectively.
Once Pettis is able to get Moreno behind the black lines, he deliberately forces Moreno to circle towards his cross by taking small angled steps. Moreno cannot step to the right due to the threat of the jab and thus the avenue he chooses to break Pettis’ pressure is to throw a left of his own, which due to the elimination of other possibilities due to his ringcraft, Pettis is able to promptly identify and cross counter.
The ease of which Pettis is able to pick apart Moreno while pressuring clearly bothers Moreno who, in turn needs to find a way to turn the tables. His moment comes when Pettis loses his footing after landing a head kick, yet the ringcraft of Pettis once again shines through and Moreno catches the worst of the sequence.
With the threat of the jab clearly established, Moreno instinctively slips to the outside of what he believes will be a southpaw cross, as up until this point Pettis has exclusively used the cross to follow up the jab. Pettis anticipates this and throws a head kick that is partially caught, which causes an off balance which forces Pettis to fence. Pettis quickly restores his composure and catches a kick from the blitzing Moreno, using it and a frame on Moreno’s lead side to herd him into the fence as he side steps, catching Moreno with a heavy cross.
As a result of this exchange, Pettis has not only discouraged Moreno from trying to blitz but from attempting to initiate exchanges due to his excellent ringcraft, consistent pressure, and superb counters, thus allowing Pettis to effortlessly walk down “The Assassin Baby”.
With Moreno unable to move toward his left due to the threat of the cross, his only recourse is to attempt to slip the jab and circle out. Pettis shuts this down by lever striking with the high kick following the slip.
Pettis’ systematic approach to fighting is shown not only in his striking but in his takedown defense and grappling. While his lack of standout athleticism was exploited by Henry Cejudo in their fight in regard to his takedown defense, every other fighter has had a hell of a hard time taking the Roufusport product down. When an opponent is able to establish a takedown threat on Pettis, it tends to be on the fence, as Pettis uses an assortment of frames in open space to deter opponents from shooting. Once he is on the fence with his opponent angling towards his hips, Pettis looks to establish an overhook with his left, while stuffing the other hand towards the overhook or trying to obtain the short underhook. The purpose of the overhook is that it stops Pettis’ opponents from reaching his hips, making it nearly impossible to finish the single or double. The fight for control on the free side of the clinch prevents fighters from attempting to bodylock Pettis, giving him an avenue to escape.
This tactic has an added benefit as even when it fails, it allows Pettis to immediately launch into his primary ground attack, the overhook triangle from closed guard. The attack is and will always be a mainstay in MMA as it not only allows for quick submission attack off of a takedown, where the opponents’ arms will be in prime position for the overhook, but even if a fighter is not able to triangle their opponent, the defense forces the opponent to create space, allowing the fighter the opportunity to escape a vulnerable position on the ground.
While Pettis is not able to finish the triangle on the always tough Moreno, he shows his knowledge of transitions as he switches to the omoplata, and finally to the clinch, before separating and resetting the exchange in his prefered area of attack.
One of the most underappreciated facets of sports is being well put together and competent. Fans and pundits alike are guilty of over rewarding the flashy while glossing over workmanlike excellence. No, Sergio Pettis will never have the highlight reel his brother possesses, but unlike Anthony, he built a multifaceted game with specific, simply, and repeatable tactics that were available to him no matter the circumstances. While the UFC would never, have never, or will ever properly appreciate fighters of his ilk, combat sports fans should, as Sergio Pettis continues to perform and hopefully obtain the title shot he truly deserves.