Anthony Pettis (photo courtesy of Sherdog)

There are not many fighters in the world of mixed martial arts who are on more of a hot streak than World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight contender Anthony Pettis. With three consecutive wins by stoppage, Pettis has set himself up for the biggest fight of his young career, a lightweight title match with Ben Henderson at WEC 53.

The past year has seen Pettis beef up his MMA resume with three straight wins over high-quality opponents, and also inject his name in the the minds of casual MMA fans after his appearance on MTV’s documentary-style reality show, World of Jenks.

It all started, curiously enough, with a split-decision loss to Bart Palaszewski at WEC 45.

“When I got signed I was 22, so I’m still young in this game, and going into the Palaszewski fight I felt invincible and came into fights feeling I could beat anybody,” Pettis said to Joe Rizzo and Joe Martinez on Are You Ready Radio on the MMA DieHards Radio Network. “Bart Palaszewski proved me wrong, but it’s been the best thing that’s happened to me. Nothing motivates like a loss. When you go through a loss you find out a lot about yourself and really become better as a fighter.”

Even though Pettis was able to turn that defeat into a positive and string together three wins to earn a title shot, not every fighter would have went down that path. It was Pettis’ first loss of his career, and forced him to re-evaluate his life in and out of the cage. Doubt crept in. He wondered where things would go from there and feared what a second loss might do to his career.

“I have always been confident in my skills, but after the loss I had to restart everything I though about myself,” Pettis said. “After you lose you consider everything. I could get cut, not have any income and it could all be over.”

Pettis is well-equipped to deal with adversity, though, and has been walking the right path for some time despite an upbringing in Milwaukee that pulled him in several directions.

“My dad tragically died when I was a junior in high school and when that happened I wasn’t the person I am today,” Pettis said. “All my cousins were in gangs in the neighborhood, and when you lose your dad at a young age like I did you want revenge. You want answers and you want to know what happened and who did it. But when I saw how much it hurt my mom, I never wanted to see my mom cry again. I wanted to make her smile and that’s what I became 100 percent focused on doing.”

Pettis’ story was detailed by award-winning filmmaker Andrew Jenks on MTV, and the show concluded with Pettis’ fight against Danny Castillo at WEC 47. It was a huge fight for Pettis because he knew a loss could stop his career before it really even began. Pettis rocked Castillo with a head kick and finished him off with a flurry of punches on the ground to secure the first round knockout and earn a bonus for Knockout of the Night. Two wins later via triangle choke over Alex Karalexis and Shane Roller, and Pettis has become one of the best lightweights in the game.

“I had a lot riding on that fight,” Pettis said. “I put everything I had into that training camp and I was able to win and get a bonus. That was the first time I got a bonus and since then my income has gotten better.”

“Everything has lined up perfectly for me this past year. It’s probably a year I’ll never forget with everything that’s happened.”

During the past 12 months, Pettis has also become a businessman. He owns three mixed martial arts gyms in and around his hometown of Milwaukee and recently opened a sports bar focused on combat sports. Every story that comes out about Pettis lately illustrates a maturity not usually found in a 23-year old.

“My ultimate goal isn’t to be filthy rich, I just want to be secure,” Pettis said. “I grew up in a house that didn’t always have food and I had to share clothes. The fight game only lasts so long, and I’ve had some great opportunities to invest in some businesses and work on deciding what I want to do the rest of my life.”

While Pettis is constantly taking steps to make sure his future is as bright as his life currently is, his focus is squarely on Henderson and the WEC lightweight belt. WEC 53 is the final WEC event before the Zuffa-run promotion officially merges with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The winner of the Pettis-Henderson fight will face the winner of UFC 125′s clash between champion Frankie Edgar and challenger Gray Maynard in a superfight to unify the WEC and UFC lightweight titles.

“I’m ready to go,” Pettis said. “I put a lot of work into this camp and it’s been a long time coming. I’m ready to go in there and do what I do best.”

Henderson represents a huge challenge to Pettis, as the current champion is 12-1 with a perfect 5-0 record in WEC. Henderson’s lone loss came very early in his career and he owns wins over Roller and Jamie Varner, and a pair of victories over Donald Cerrone. Four of his five WEC wins have come by stoppage, with the other being a unanimous decision.

“Fighting Ben Henderson is a great opportunity for me,” Pettis stated. “I think he is really underrated and should be considered top five in MMA. Everyone doubts the WEC because we’re not the UFC, but one of us will get to carry the flag over and prove the top-level WEC guys can hold their own. We just haven’t had a chance to show everybody.”

A year ago, Pettis didn’t know where the next path in life would take him. Now he has his career and future outside of MMA clearly in control. When the cage door closes and he and Henderson step toward each other, he’ll have another chance to take his career to a whole new level.

“I like going in as the underdog,” Pettis said. “Nobody expects me to win. I have nothing to lose. Every fight I go into I give everything I have. It’s going to be an amazing fight, I’ll tell you that.”