Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis is headed back to the squared circle.
Promotional officials confirmed to MMA Fighting that Pettis is set to meet 27-fight pro boxer Neeraj Goyat in a six-round super welterweight (154 pounds) bout. The event takes place Jan. 23 and is presented by IPBL Boxing and sanctioned by the Indian Boxing Council. A location is yet to be officially announced, but expected to be revealed in November with Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, and Chennai in contention to be the host
site.
Pettis is 1-1 in the boxing ring, including a majority decision win over Roy Jones Jr. at Gamebred Boxing 4 in April 2023. “Showtime” Pettis returned to the sweet science a little over a year later, losing a decision to Chris Avila on the Diaz vs. Masvidal boxing event, which was Pettis’ most recent combat sports appearance.
Pettis’ younger brother Sergio Pettis competed in a boxing bout in India in March 2025, and dropped a unanimous decision to Sabari Jaishankar, so the elder Pettis would love to even the score for the family.
“I have seen what Indian fighters can do, and Neeraj is the best of them,” Pettis said. “That is who I want. I have thought a lot about Sergio’s loss. This one is for him, and I am coming to win.”
For Goyat, who is riding a five-fight win streak including a win over Whindersson Nunes on the Paul vs. Tyson card, this is a historic moment for his career.
“I have fought in China, in Thailand, in America and in the UK, and every time I was the Indian on somebody else’s card,” Goyat said. “This time the card is ours. I want to thank MVP and Nakisa Bidarian for believing in me and helping bring this moment to India. Anthony is a real champion and I respect everything he has done, but I have waited my whole career to fight a name like this in front of my own people. I am not giving that night away.”
MVP co-founders Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian are thrilled to give their fighter the opportunity for a fight in his home country, and to do so against an accomplished combat sports veteran and former world champion.
“We signed Neeraj because we believed he had the potential to become a global boxing star and help put Indian boxing on the world stage,” Paul and Bidarian said in a joint statement. “Now he has the opportunity to headline a historic event in his home country against one of the biggest names in combat sports. Anthony Pettis is an MMA icon, but this is boxing, and we expect Neeraj to show exactly why we believed in him from day one.”
