Fight Path: WEC's Anthony Pettis found MMA after father's tragic death
Anthony Pettis and his older brother answered the knocks at their family's front door late on Nov. 12, 2003.
"We thought it might be dad," Pettis told MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com). "He would come and go at weird hours."
Instead, there stood two Milwaukee Police Department detectives. Not knowing if their father was in trouble — his past in and out of drug use had gained him a sometimes-difficult group of friends — the 15-year-old Pettis and his brother were vague with answers, especially when the detectives said they were investigating a homicide.
Who was he hanging out with? They said they didn't know.
Where had he been? They said they didn't know.
"We didn't want to give them any information," Pettis said. "We didn't know if his friends had done something. So they pull out this picture of him in the back of an ambulance with his eyes wide open. I'll never forget that image."
Pettis' father, who had stabilized his life with a janitorial job at a Christian center for troubled teens, had been killed by a would-be robber at a friend's home. He had been stabbed two times in the chest, leaving his wife and three sons behind.
The experience was part of a rough-and-tumble upbringing for Pettis (6-0), whose preliminary card lightweight fight against Mike Campbell at "WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber II" on June 7 will mark his WEC debut. His tough Milwaukee neighborhood, though, has helped make Pettis a fighter who respects others outside of the cage but will battle endlessly — even with a dislocated shoulder — inside of it.
Pettis also carries the memory of a father who was good to the family during his time with them but also troubled.
"He was an awesome guy; he had little sayings and lines that would stick with you," Pettis said. "He counseled some youth here, worked hard for us. He taught me a lot."
Not a bunch of dairy farms
During stretches of Pettis' youth, though, his father was absent from the family's home. His mother, while balancing work during the day and school at night, searched for an activity to occupy her three boys in the evening while she studied.
Alverno College boasted a Tae Kwon Do program, and Pettis' mother enrolled him. The boys took to it immediately His older brother became a fourth-degree black belt while Pettis earned a third-degree black belt.
The Pettis brothers continued success in Tae Kwon Do until the night their father was killed, which sent them into an uncertain period.
"The next two years were like a blur," Pettis said. "I spent two years pretty much going through the motions. I stopped doing martial arts and boxing. I'm thinking, 'Why am I trying to be a good guy when this bad stuff happens?'"
During his senior year in high school — after his older brother became the first male member of his family to graduate from high school — Pettis found support from a school nun. She encouraged him to enroll in the Kenosha Fire Academy, where he earned the proper qualifications and became a firefighter for 18 months.
It had been a sometimes-difficult childhood in the Midwest.
"There are gangs, and there's violence all over the place," Pettis said of his native neighborhood. "I tell people a lot that Milwaukee and Wisconsin aren't just dairy farms. It's city life, and it can be tough."
Fighting to the end
About three years ago, as he emerged from his funk, Pettis began searching online for alternative martial arts forms, now tired of Tae Kwon Do. He discovered the Duke Roufus MMA Academy in Milwaukee, and he wandered in for an MMA open house one afternoon.
Just months later, Pettis was regularly training in jiu jitsu, had taken Roufus on as his manager and trainer, and won his first amateur fight in just 24 seconds. After two more amateur fights, Pettis turned pro and won his debut with a 36-second submission at a Gladiators Cage Fighting event in December 2007.
His third professional fight, against Mike Lambrecht in March 2008, proved to be a defining moment for the still-young fighter.
"He was a wrestler, so I focused on my standup," Pettis said. "In the first round I'm tearing him up with my hands, so I go for this Superman punch. He changes levels, and he shoots on me, picks me up and slams me. Not knowing exactly what to do, I put my arm out, and I dislocated my right shoulder when I landed."
On the ground, Pettis' mind raced. Roufus had put Pettis in the fight against the more-experienced Lambrecht as a test, and Pettis didn't want to fail. He wanted to do anything to avoid tapping out – despite a shoulder that was out of socket.
In a show of strength and determination that amazed many that night, Pettis kicked Lambrecht back, got to his feet and again faced the opponent.
"I look at my corner, and they're all in shock," Pettis said. "I knew I had two kicks in me."
The first went to Lambrecht's knee and missed. Pettis then eyed Lambrecht's leg, coerced Lambrecht to move to protect the leg and landed a kick to the head that knocked Lambrecht out at the 1:49 mark of the first round.
After a year of rehabilitation on the shoulder, Pettis is back to full strength with a stellar fighting record, an emotional past and a resolve built in a hardscrabble neighborhood.
"We came close to moving when my father passed," Pettis said. "When I drive past the place, I remember what happened, but my dad is buried here and I would like to stay where my dad is. I have a huge family, and most of them live here. My gym is here. I want to build a good life here."
