Anthony Pettis has special company on the road to redemption.

After a second consecutive decision loss, this time at the hands of Eddie Alvarez at UFC ight Night 81 in January, Pettis' reign as lightweight champion was a distant memory and he came to the realization that his game had become stale.

"Before the losses, my training camps were pretty repetitive. ‘This is what I’ve got to do. I’ve got to get in really great shape, I have to make sure I can throw this many kicks, this many takedowns, this many submissions, spar this many rounds,’ and then you lose the fight and you don’t go back to the drawing board but you’ve got to make it interesting and fun again," he said. "I’ve got to show up to the gym and get excited to train or show up to a training session and be excited to get stronger and faster and quicker."

The journey back took Pettis and his younger brother Sergio to Albuquerque to train with some of the biggest names in the sport for UFC 197 on Saturday. Anthony takes on Edson Barboza on the main card while Sergio squared off against Chris Kelades in the prelims.

From former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, fighting for the interim title in the main event Saturday, to fellow lightweight contender Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, Pettis feels he was surrounded by the best of the best to help him get back on track.

Having his younger brother in training and on the same card doesn’t hurt either.

"It is really cool. The first time we did it was in Vegas (UFC 181 - December 2014). We both had success, I beat Gilbert Melendez, he beat his guy and we had an awesome time. The second time we did out in Dallas (UFC 185), not so much. He got clipped and had his first knockout loss and I lost my belt, so we had both sides of the spectrum. We had the great experience and we had the horrible experience where we stayed in our hotel room for three or four days after the fight," Pettis said. "This time around we both agreed the same thing, we can’t let that be a superstition where we can’t fight on the same card or we can’t be doing the same thing because it’s distracting. This isn’t a team sport. We got out there and perform to the best of our ability and if we do that we’ll put a smile on our face."

The two have been nearly inseparable since losing their father in a house robbery when they were just 16 and 10 years old. Pettis says the tragedy brought their family closer together and opened his eyes to the type of man and brother he needed to be.

As every young brother wants to be as big, strong and cool as his older brother, Sergio watched as Anthony grew into a special martial artist and did his best to follow suit.

"kind of just took him under my wing," Pettis said. "He didn’t have to be an MMA fighter, that was my passion. I was training everyday and he saw that and he kind of took a liking to that. He came over and started training with me and it was his choice to become a fighter."

"It’s cool that we got to share that experience and know that I kind of opened up that door for him to get this career, this life path he chose, and now it’s his job to make the most of it and strive to become the best in the world and get those world titles and making this something he can look back on and smile about."

Once heralded by UFC president Dana White as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Pettis was brought back down to Earth in a unanimous decision loss to Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 185 last March. Dos Anjos put on a grappling clinic and wrestled the lightweight title away from the 29-year-old.

He followed that up with another mundane performance in the loss to Alvarez. Pettis wasn’t overmatched for the entire fight, but he was vulnerable far too often against Alvarez’s ground game.

After the split decision loss, a disappointed yet hungry Pettis wanted to get back in the cage immediately for "a real fight."

He’s got that and much more in Barboza on Saturday.

"I think this is that fight that’s going to get me back on track to where I need to be at. I said this at the beginning of the year that this is going to be my year and I still feel that way," Pettis said. "There was a minor setback with the Alvarez fight but I feel like I’m getting better as an athlete, as a fighter, and I’m just focused."