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Catholic Herald describes Anthony's childhood on Milwaukee's south side with his parents, Annette Garcia and Eugene Pettis Jr., and his brothers Reynaldo and Sergio.

According to Catholic Herald, he began taekwondo at five through Alverno College's Telesis Program while his mother attended evening classes.

Catholic Herald reports that his father was killed during a robbery near their home in November 2003. Anthony was 16.

Catholic Herald reports that he graduated from Dominican High School in 2005, after attending St. Matthew and St. Adalbert grade schools.

Sherdog recounts how, at 18, he met Duke Roufus and entered beginner kickboxing and jiu-jitsu classes at Roufusport, arriving with experience teaching taekwondo. Roufus became a mentor.

The UFC athlete profile identifies Pettis as a third-degree black belt in taekwondo.

Sports Illustrated records his first defeat as a split decision against Bart Palaszewski at WEC 45.

Sherdog reports that a head kick stopped Danny Castillo at WEC 47, earning Pettis Knockout of the Night. MTV's World of Jenks had followed his preparation that week.

The Showtime Kick: UFC Fight Pass's own upload calls the bout "Fight of the Night, and Fight of the Year performances, including one unforgettable kick" and "the final fight on the final WEC card"

UFC records a first-round knockout of Joe Lauzon at UFC 144, at 1:21.

UFC's event record places his championship bout against Benson Henderson at Milwaukee's BMO Harris Bradley Center. It records a 4:41 finish; the supplied research notes that Sherdog and Wikipedia give 4:31.

UFC billed him as "hometown hero Anthony Pettis, the last man to defeat him"

General Mills, through PR Newswire, announced that fans chose Pettis in the Wheaties NEXT Challenge. They logged 324,025 workouts for him, and his box was scheduled for stores in early 2015.

UFC reports that Pettis and Gilbert Melendez coached opposite teams on The Ultimate Fighter 20, which premiered September 10, 2014.

The box was unveiled during UFC 181 fight week with Dana White on stage (UFC's own video, published December 4, 2014)

UFC records Pettis submitting Gilbert Melendez with a second-round guillotine at 1:53 at UFC 181. The supplied record identifies this as his only title defense and notes Sergio's victory on the same card.

UFC records that Rafael dos Anjos took the lightweight championship from Pettis by unanimous decision over five rounds at UFC 185.

UFC records a decision defeat against Edson Barboza at UFC 197.

UFC records a third-round TKO defeat to Max Holloway at UFC 206 in Toronto, at 4:52, in an interim featherweight title bout.

UFC records a second-round TKO defeat to Tony Ferguson at UFC 229, at 4:57, with Fight of the Night honors.

UFC records Pettis stopping Stephen Thompson at 4:55 of round two in his welterweight debut, earning Performance of the Night.

UFC records Pettis defeating Donald Cerrone by unanimous decision at welterweight at UFC 249.

ESPN reports that Pettis won his professional boxing debut against Roy Jones Jr. by an eight-round majority decision in Milwaukee.

A Roufusport release carried by Sherdog announced Pettis joining Duke Roufus and Scott Joffe as an academy partner and helping launch WI MMA Today.

A PFL profile reports that Pettis had recently launched fighter-management company Showtime Group and owned taekwondo academies.

Sports Illustrated reported that Pettis announced Showtime Fighting Championship for February 2022 in Lakeland, with a UFC Fight Pass deal and fighter development through Showtime Group.

Cageside Press reported eight bouts at Showtime FC 1 in Lakeland. Lucas Alexander defeated Jacob Kilburn by second-round verbal submission after a kick injury.

Sports Illustrated reported Pettis announcing Showtime Fighting Championship for February 2022 on UFC Fight Pass. He described Showtime Group as a way to help fighters at his gym develop their careers.

MMASucka describes a six-month pause after the Lakeland debut, followed by a relaunch as Anthony Pettis FC, with main cards on UFC Fight Pass and prelims on YouTube.

Potawatomi Casino Hotel, through Urban Milwaukee, announced its APFC 14 partnership for Milwaukee, with ten undercard bouts, two championships and several guest athletes.

Sherdog listed 28 completed cards and one upcoming event in its November 4, 2026 promotion ledger, including APFC 27 in Milwaukee on December 13.