Anthony Pettis returns to lightweight, faces Diego Ferreira at UFC event in January

Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis is returning to his old stomping grounds at 155 pounds for a fight against Diego Ferreira on Jan. 18, 2020.

The event still doesn’t have an official title or numbering because the card may end up as the first UFC pay-per-view in 2020 if a deal can be finalized on Conor McGregor’s return to action. If McGregor doesn’t end up fighting on Jan. 18, then it’s likely the show would revert to a UFC Fight Night event instead.

News of the fight between Pettis and Ferreira was first reported by MMAJunkie.

After a brief stint at welterweight, where he went 1-1 with a win over Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and a loss to Nate Diaz, Pettis will go back to lightweight when he returns in Janaury.

Pettis is 3-3 overall in his past six fights, while picking up wins over Jim Miller and Michael Chiesa at lightweight.

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The fight with Pettis will serve as the biggest opportunity of Ferreira’s recent career as he looks to build on five consecutive wins including victories over Rustam Khabilov and Mairbek Taisumov.

Ferreira hasn’t suffered a defeat since 2015 when he fell to former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier.

Pettis vs. Ferreira is the latest addition to the UFC fight card in January, which remains without a main event as the promotion continues to negotiate with McGregor on a potential fight.