Pettis' coach Duke Roufus told MMAFighting.com on Friday that Pettis "popped his knee" while training in Brazil this week. Pettis was in Brazil to promote his UFC 163 title fight against Jose Aldo.
When he flew back to Milwaukee, Pettis was still complaining about the knee, so he went to get MRI. That confirmed his worst fears: Torn meniscus. Four-to-six weeks of rehab needed.
The good news for Pettis is he will not require surgery, however, Roufus said another one of his fighters, Erik Koch, suffered a similar knee injury last year and he needed more than four-to-six weeks to get healthy.
"He's very distraught," Roufus said. "Anthony is a very resilient man. He just wants to regroup right now. What can you do? You can dwell on the negative or figure out a way to past this and get better."
Roufus said Pettis "begged" White to keep him on the card. He tried to convince his coach that he only needed three serious weeks to train for the fight, but the UFC didn't want to take that risk, for Pettis' sake.
"[The UFC] said, 'No, you got to be healthy,'" Roufus said. "I'm glad they're looking out for his best interests, too."