Pettis caught the attention of the MMA Fighting world this week after a hard-fought victory over Benavidez. The flyweight battle came down to a split decision, scoring 29-28 and 30-27, with 29-28 the other way. It was a narrow win but nevertheless, one that Pettis relished and in interviews after the fight you sensed he is hungry for more.

Experience was not enough for Benavidez

Benavidez had been out of action for almost a year and a half and it would seem that this fight came too early for him. However, he is the more experienced fighter of the two and many people expected him to come in and continue to add to his six-fight win streak. Pettis had other ideas and showed everyone at UFC 225 just what he is made of.

Huge congrats to @sergiopettis on a great win at #UFC225 this is just the beginning! pic.twitter.com/cACF6p3Zxh

— Evan Thammahong (@E_Thammahong) June 10, 2018

Pettis wants shot at Flyweight Title

In his post-fight interview Pettis sounded extremely confident of his ability to go on and take a shot at the Flyweight Title and he said he wants to have a belt around his waist by the time he is 26 years old. At 24, this gives him two years to realize his dreams but after the Benavidez win, he is looking like a serious contender for the belt. DJ will no doubt be glancing over his shoulder at Pettis, the up and coming fighter that is now developing into a very intelligent and technical opponent.

Pettis now has 17 wins, just 3 losses

Pettis reflected upon his latest fight as ‘the biggest win of his career’ and he is understandably hoping that this will be the platform to greater things. Benavidez has a formidable record in MMA so this was a huge scalp for Pettis, boosting his own record to 17 wins and 3 losses. We could be looking at DJ’s next biggest threat in Sergio Pettis.