Anthony Pettis issues statement on wild UFC 229 loss to Tony Ferguson

On Saturday night, before UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor to retain the title, former interim champion Tony Ferguson picked up a victory over former undisputed champ Anthony Pettis.

Although Anthony Pettis was able to drop Tony Ferguson at one point in the fight, his corner stopped the action between the second and third rounds as he had broken his hand.

Shortly after this fight, which earned both fighters $50,000 Fight of the Night checks, Anthony Pettis took to Instagram to issue a brief statement on his loss.

From the sounds of it, the former champion is in good spirits and excited to get back in there.

Respect to [Tony Ferguson] and his team!!! Hell of a fight, broke my hand on the over hand right! Fell short tonight but I had fun, love this life!!! Nothing changes keep grinding!! – Anthony Pettis on Instagram.

With his loss to Tony Ferguson, Anthony Pettis returns to the loss column after an impressive submission defeat of BJJ blackbelt Michael Chiesa. Prior to this win, Pettis was defeated by Dustin Poirier, and victorious over Jim Miller. The former UFC lightweight king is now 21-8 overall.

Tony Ferguson, meanwhile, makes a successful return to the cage having not fought since October of 2017, when he defeat Kevin Lee by submission to win the UFC interim lightweight belt. He’s now 24-3 overall, and probably the next man in line for UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.

What do you think is next for Anthony Pettis after UFC 229?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/5/2018.