Sergio Pettis to test free agency, UFC 245 fight put on hold

Sergio Pettis was supposed to be fighting at UFC 245 in December, but those plans have reportedly been put on hold.

According to Ariel Helwani of ESPN, Pettis, who was scheduled to fight Kai Kara-France on December 14 in Las Vegas, will reportedly test free agency as his current deal with the UFC has expired.

Most recently, Pettis defeated Tyson Nam by unanimous decision at UFC Mexico, taking his record with the UFC to 9-5. He is 18-5 overall as a professional fighter. The younger brother of former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, he has been a mainstay in the flyweight division, but also competed in the bantamweight division in December of 2018.

In the report from ESPN, Helwani stated that it was determined Pettis’ current UFC contract had expired and he was allowed to explore other options outside of the UFC. Helwani added that Sergio Pettis is not ruling out a return to the UFC, but he is open to testing out the free agency market as well.

With the fight against Kai Kara-France being put on hold, there is no update whether the UFC intends to keep the fight scheduled as Pettis explores his options, or if they will be seeking a new opponent for Kara-France.

A mainstay of Pettis Martial Arts with his brother Anthony along with their team at Roufusport, Sergio Pettis’ most notable win comes over former flyweight title challenger Joseph Benavidez. The 26-year old Pettis is a veteran of the UFC, making his promotional debut at UFC 167 back in 2013, when he was just 20-years old.

While it’s been reported that Pettis is open to testing the free agency market, the report from Helwani did not state whether or not any of the other top MMA promotions like Bellator or ONE Championship have shown interest at this time.

Would you like to see Sergio Pettis stay with the UFC or compete for another promotion?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/3/2019.