Anthony Pettis moves back to lightweight, meets Diego Ferriera at Jan. 18 event

Anthony Pettis will make the move back down to 155 pounds for his next fight, where he will take on a streaking lightweight.

Pettis (22-9 MMA, 14-9 UFC) faces Diego Ferreira on Jan. 18, two persons with knowledge of the booking told MMA Junkie on Monday. The person requested anonymity since the UFC has yet to make an announcement.

In his brief move up to welterweight, Pettis, the former UFC and WEC lightweight champion, scored a spectacular knockout over Stephen Thompson in March. But he then dropped a unanimous decision to Nate Diaz at UFC 241 in August, which precipitated his move back to 155.

Fortis MMA’s Ferreira (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) has won his last five fights in a row, and is coming off a unanimous decision win over Mairbek Taisumov at UFC 242 in September, snapping Taisumov’s six fight win streak. He will look to continue his run at 155, when he takes on former UFC lightweight champion Pettis.

With the addition, the Jan. 18 lineup, which does not yet have an official location or event name, now includes:

• Maycee Barber vs. Roxanne Modafferi
• Drew Dober vs. Nasrat Haqparast
• Grant Dawson vs. Chas Skelly
• Maurice Greene vs. Aleksei Oleinik
• Claudia Gadelha vs. Alexa Grasso
• Andre Fili vs. Sodiq Yusuff
• Diego Ferreira vs. Anthony Pettis