Anthony Pettis misses weight, meaning only Max Holloway can claim interim UFC belt

Former UFC champion Anthony Pettis missed weight Friday.

After proclaiming that returning his training base to his home in Milwaukee had resulted in superb conditioning and fitness, Pettis weighed in at 148 pounds -- three pounds above the featherweight limit.

“You’ve got to be in shape no matter what — with the adrenaline pumping, the arena, the crowd — you’re going to get tired,” Pettis told the Los Angeles Times last week. “To me, mentally knowing I have 25 minutes to prove I’m better than this guy, it means not getting too excited, not looking to finish so fast, being smart.”

And making weight.

UFC President Dana White said in addition to losing 20% of his purse, Pettis (19-6) can’t win the interim featherweight belt that was to be at stake in his Saturday night UFC 206 pay-per-view main event in Toronto against Hawaii’s Max Holloway.

Should Holloway post a 10^th consecutive victory by defeating Pettis, he will be given the interim belt and a featherweight title shot against recently declared full champion Jose Aldo of Brazil.

Pettis’ weight issue continues what has been a frustrating event for the UFC.

First, scheduled main-event fighter Daniel Cormier suffered a training-camp injury to scrap his light-heavyweight title defense against Anthony Johnson.

Then, Holloway-Pettis was elevated to an interim title fight as the UFC forced Conor McGregor to relinquish the featherweight belt he won last December by knocking out Aldo in 13 seconds.

The nightmare possibility now is that Pettis wins Saturday, and the UFC ponders who to make Aldo’s opponent.