Anthony Pettis will box Neeraj Goyat on Jan. 23 in India

Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis is taking his boxing career to India.

Pettis will face Neeraj Goyat, India's top professional boxer, on Jan. 23. The event is promoted by IPBL Boxing and sanctioned by the Indian Boxing Council. A host city is expected to be named next month with Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Chennai under consideration.

Goyat's homecoming

Goyat is 21-4 with nine knockouts. He is a former WBC Asia champion and the first Indian boxer to be ranked by the World Boxing Council.

In 2024 he became the first international fighter signed by Most Valuable Promotions, the company co-founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian. He beat Brazil's Whindersson Nunes on the undercard of Paul vs. Mike Tyson in Arlington, Texas.

The January date will be his first fight in India since 2022. Goyat said that in past fights abroad he was always "the Indian on somebody else's card." He added: "This time the card is ours."

Pettis fights for his brother

Pettis is 39 and has not fought in MMA since 2022. He has boxed twice as a pro including an eight-round majority decision win over Roy Jones Jr. in April 2023. He is also a co-promoter of the Indian Fight League and the Indian Pro Boxing League.

His younger brother Sergio Pettis, a former Bellator bantamweight champion, lost a unanimous decision to India's Sabari Jaishankar in March 2025 in Hyderabad. Pettis said he has thought a lot about that loss and wants the best India has to offer. "Neeraj is the best of them," he said.