Anthony Pettis believes if he can dominantly defeat Joe Lauzon at UFC 144, he would earn a title shot according to mmamania.com.

"I want to fight top five guys so I can get that title shot back. (Ben) Henderson's getting a title shot and that's supposed to be my position, so I want to go back for that. Fighting a guy like Joe Lauzon and winning that impressively, would get me right back in that title shot," Pettis said.

Pettis was on the verge of contesting for the UFC's lightweight title upon his transition from the WEC, where he became the promotion's last lightweight champion after being absorbed into the UFC. However a unanimous decision loss to Clay Guida in his UFC debut sidelined his title shot. More recently, Pettis rebounded with a split decision win over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 136.

"Henderson's on a tear. He deserves a title shot. I'm just eager to get my shot back at him," Pettis said.

Pettis is fighting Lauzon who is also coming off of a win himself at UFC 136. Lauzon entered his bout with Melvin Guillard as the underdog but stepped up to the challenge admirably, submitting Guillard in just 47 seconds with a rear naked choke that also won him a Submission of the Night award.

UFC 144 is scheduled on February 25, 2012 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson for the UFC lightweight title set as the main event.