Chris Avila upsets former UFC champ Anthony Pettis on scorecards in high-volume affair

Stockton, Calif. was heavily represented Saturday at the “Last Man Standing” boxing event in Anaheim as Chris Avila took one home for the city.

In a somewhat surprising result to many viewers, Avila (6-1) defeated former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis (1-1) via unanimous decision (58-56, 59-55, 59-55) in a six-round 175-pound affair on the main card of the Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal-headlined boxing event.

Avila utilized a high-volume attack, much similar to a Diaz, as pointed out by commentator Sean O’Malley on the broadcast. There were arm-punches galore, as Avila successfully implemented his unusual but effective approach.

Pettis hung in with Avila, but was unable to score much significant offense if any. Avila halted him on a multiple occasions with hooks that visibly threw Pettis out of rhythm.

The win for Avila was his sixth in a row since he lost his professional boxing debut in 2014. Avila also holds boxing wins over MMA notables Jeremy Stephens and Anthony Taylor.

Pettis has fought all over the combat sports world since his UFC departure in 2020. He remains under contract with PFL but also has competed in boxing and for Karate Combat.

Gallery

The up-to-the-minute Last Man Standing results include:

• Chris Avila def. Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision (58-56, 59-55, 59-55)
• Curmel Moton def. Nikolai Buzolin via TKO – Round 2, 1:39
• Amado Vargas def. Sean Garcia via TKO – Round 6, 0:46
• Devin Cushing def. Manuel Correa via unanimous decision (77-75, 78-74, 80-72)
• Dan Hernandez def. Luciano Ramos via unanimous decision (38-36, 38-36, 39-37)
• Luis Lopez def. Alan Sanchez via unanimous decision (77-75, 77-75, 77-75)
• Gabriel Costa def. Steve Dunn via knockout – Round 2, 2:50
• Bryce Logan def. Jose Aguayo via TKO – Round 3, 1:20
• Ken Lopez def. Andres Martinez via unanimous decision (59-54, 59-54, 58-55)

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Diaz vs. Masvidal 2.