LAS VEGAS -- It's hard to believe, but former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis has now suffered three losses in a row.
Looking for his first win since December 2014, Pettis (18-5) came up short on the scorecards for a third consecutive time, dropping a unanimous three-round fight to Edson Barboza (17-4). All three judges scored the 155-pound contest for the Brazilian: 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.
The lightweight bout took place on the main card of Saturday's UFC 197 pay-per-view event, inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Pettis, who trained for the fight in Milwaukee and Albuquerque, New Mexico, had never lost back-to-back fights prior to this skid, let alone three in a row.
"I worked very hard for this fight," said Barboza, who improved to 11-4 in the UFC. "I fight like I train -- my coach knows that. If I fight like that, nobody can stop me."
The left hook in particular was a key weapon for Barboza. He popped Pettis with it twice early on, drawing a small smear of blood with one of them. Pettis tried to utilize the cage and keep Barboza guessing, but Barboza's hook, inside leg kicks and jab consistently broke Pettis' movement down.
Owner of seven career knockouts, Pettis landed a nifty right uppercut at the start of the fight and attempted to throw some of the flashy cartwheel and spinning back kicks he has been known to land in the past -- but Barboza avoided them well. The one spinning kick that did land for Pettis, Barboza shook off immediately.
Pettis never appeared close to being knocked out, but his left leg was discolored from the second round on and he winced slightly after a few body kicks by Barboza. According to Fightmetric, Barboza more than doubled the total strikes landed by Pettis, 77 to 35.
ESPN.com ranked Pettis the No. 4 lightweight in the division coming into the weekend. Barboza, 30, entered the event ranked outside the top 10.
Whittaker earns hard-fought win over Natal
Middleweight Robert Whittaker (16-4) extended his current win streak to five inside the Octagon, outpointing Brazilian veteran Rafael Natal (21-7-1) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). The win came at a cost, as Whittaker's lead left leg got absolutely chewed up by Natal's leg kicks. Whittaker hurt Natal with a left hook in the first round and then dropped him with a right head kick in the third, but Natal refused to go away. Whittaker's nose was bloodied early, but he out-struck Natal in total strikes 88 to 63. Whittaker, of Australia, is 7-2 in the UFC and undefeated at 185 pounds. He was 2-2 as a welterweight in his first four appearances.
Rodriguez flattens Fili
Mexican featherweight Yair Rodriguez (7-1) scored a highlight-reel knockout for the ages, as he annihilated Andre Fili (15-4) with a walk-off, flying head kick at 2:15 of the second round. It was an amazing exclamation point to a completely dominant performance by Rodriguez. He badly outclassed Fili on the feet, showcasing his entire arsenal of strikes in the process. The finish came after Fili was clearly bothered by a strike to his left eye. As he blinked and repeatedly wiped the area, Rodriguez launched into the air and threw a roundhouse left kick that landed flush and ended the fight. It's the first time Fili has been legitimately knocked out. Rodriguez extended his win streak to five.
Esparza returns to claim decision
Former strawweight champion Carla Esparza (11-3) posted a shutout victory (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) against Juliana Lima (8-4) in her first appearance since losing the title to Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March 2015. Relying on her bread-and-butter wrestling game, Esparza took Lima down throughout the 115-pound contest and maintained top control. Lima landed a handful of upkicks and scored one reversal in the third round, but it was an otherwise one-sided affair. Esparza, 28, took the fight on short notice. She is 2-1 in the UFC.
