Anthony Pettis reacts to his victory over Gilbert Melendez in their UFC lightweight championship bout during the UFC 181 event inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center on December 6, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Anthony Pettis wants nothing more than revenge against Rafael dos Anjos, but he refutes some recent comments made by Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone about his feelings towards the current lightweight champion.
Cerrone mentioned while he was appearing on The Joe Rogan podcast that he spoke to Pettis recently and the former king at 155 pounds said that he would help train him for the upcoming fight he has against dos Anjos in December, and that he "hates" the Brazilian.
Pettis now tells "UFC Tonight" reporter Ariel Helwani that those comments were taken out of context in a conversation he had with Cerrone at a UFC event recently.
Pettis says he never told Cerrone that he would train him for the upcoming fight against dos Anjos because he doesn't train with any other fighters in his weight class who could become potential opponents.
He also reiterated that there's no hatred towards dos Anjos, just a general competitive spirit that he wants revenge for the fight he lost to him in March.
"I need to get my glory back," Pettis said.
Pettis is currently in the early stages of preparation for his January showdown with Eddie Alvarez and then after that he hopes to get the rematch with dos Anjos -- title or no title.
Pettis says that even if dos Anjos loses to Cerrone in December, that's the fight he prefers because he lost to the Brazilian and he already defeated "Cowboy" in a previous matchup.
As much as Pettis wants the belt back, "exorcising" the dos Anjos demons is taking precedent for now, assuming he gets past Alvarez in January.
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