The UFC Nashville main event witnessed an insane superman punch knockout when former UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis blasted the UFC’s #3 ranked welterweight Stephen Thompson in the second round. Thompson seemed to be off to good start, landing his hands early and bloodying up his adversary. Then, at the very end of the second round, Pettis pulled out a crazy fight-ending superman punch that sent Thompson crashing lifeless to the floor. A couple of ground strikes connected before the fight was officially stopped. This was wild! Check out Tim Burke’s play-by-play of Anthony Pettis knocking out Stephen Thompson:<doc-sep>Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis came roaring back to life on Saturday with a highlight-reel knockout against Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night in Nashville, Tennessee. Pettis, 32, went into the welterweight contest on a 3-6 skid. Part of the reason he even wanted the 170-pound fight, in fact, was the a lack of exciting options in his own 155-pound weight class. After that performance, the options for Pettis' next bout are seemingly endless. What's next for "Showtime," Thompson and the other big names of UFC Fight Night? Here's ESPN's take. Anthony Pettis, lightweight/welterweight Result: defeated Thompson via second-round KO Next: winner of Justin Gaethje vs. Edson Barboza on March 30 Pettis is going to wherever the biggest fight is. Yes, he just knocked out a two-time title challenger at welterweight, but that doesn't guarantee his immediate future will be in that division. He's not even that big for a lightweight, relatively speaking. His next move will be based on caliber of opponent, not weight. If Gaethje beats Barboza next weekend in Philadelphia, pairing him with Pettis at 155 pounds is a no-brainer. If Barboza wins, it's less so (they previously fought in 2016). If Pettis' next fight isn't against one of these two, I think it will be the winner of the Rafael dos Anjos-Kevin Lee welterweight bout on May 18. Honestly, my No. 1 choice for Pettis would actually be Jose Aldo at 155 pounds. That fight was booked back in 2013, when Aldo was the 145-pound champion, but Pettis had to pull out with a knee injury. It's a fight that would still motivate Pettis, and make a lot of sense for Aldo, who says he's retiring at the end of the year despite still performing at a high level. Anthony Pettis, right, made his welterweight debut on Saturday in Nashville, defeating Stephen Thompson by knockout. Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Stephen Thompson, welterweight Result: lost to Anthony Pettis via second-round KO Next: Robbie Lawler Heartbreaking result for Thompson, who is now suddenly 1-3-1 in his past five contests. It's not time to panic about the 36-year-old. Saturday was the first time he has ever been finished in his MMA career, and the other losses during this skid were by a very narrow margin. Some thought he beat Tyron Woodley in 2017, and Darren Till in 2018. Prior to Saturday's loss, Thompson was the perfect candidate to headline a UFC Fight Night event on June 22 in his native South Carolina -- but that timeline may be pushing it now. Either way, pairing him with Lawler makes perfect sense. Fun fight stylistically, and I'm still not in love with the idea of a Lawler-Ben Askren immediate rematch. Curtis Blaydes, heavyweight Result: defeated Justin Willis via unanimous decision Next: Stipe Miocic On one hand, this performance showed, once again, why there's ample reason to get excited about Blaydes. Willis is a legitimate heavyweight, and it turned out he wasn't in the same league as Blaydes. But on the other hand, as dominant as it was, this performance isn't going to significantly bolster Blaydes' title aspirations. For Blaydes, this was a very nice rebound from his first-round loss to Francis Ngannou in November. Not much more. It's important, though, because it puts him on track in the rankings for a No. 1 contender-type matchup. And it sure looks like that would be against Miocic. Book Ngannou vs. Junior dos Santos on the same night as Blaydes vs. Miocic and see who asserts himself as "next in line." The biggest question is whether Miocic would accept that or feel it does little for him. Jussier Formiga, flyweight Result: defeated Deiveson Figueiredo via unanimous decision Next: Joseph Benavidez I guess? I mean, everything is still so weird with this division. The champ, Henry Cejudo, is likely moving up to face Marlon Moraes for the bantamweight title this summer, per UFC president Dana White. And I can't ignore the UFC's decision to let most of its flyweight roster go earlier this year. I just don't see the promotion reversing course on that. The 125-pound weight class has been (and remains to be) on borrowed time. It's very unfortunate circumstances for Formiga and Benavidez, who each deserve a title shot. The only thing those two can really do as this all plays out, though, is stay the course. Right? This fight (which would be a rematch of a 2013 bout Benavidez won by knockout) does make sense, even if we have no idea how it fits into the bigger picture.<doc-sep>
Watch Anthony Pettis vs. Stephen Thompson full fight video highlights from UFC Nashville’s main event above, courtesy of ESPN. UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Pettis took place March 23 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Welterweight contender Stephen Thompson (14-4-1) welcomed former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis (22-8) to the 170-pound division in the night’s main event, which aired live on ESPN+. Catch the video highlights below. For more on Thompson vs. Pettis, check out the play-by-play courtesy of MMA Fighting’s Jose Youngs. Round 1: Herb Dean is the third man in the Octagon for this main event. With a touch of the gloves, Thompson opens up a series of side kicks aimed at Pettis’ midsection. Dancing around the outside, Thompson threatens with a straight left before eating a body kick from Pettis. With his hands completely at his side, Thompson continues to circle away as he batters Pettis with combinations. Pettis responds with thunderous outside leg kick. Pettis eats a body kick and responds with another leg kick. Pettis continues to work the midsection with a right kick before narrowly missing with a spinning back heel kick. Smiling, Thompson nods in approval. Plodding forward, Pettis slaps in a straight right between the eyes. Thompson switches stances and immediately connects with a high kick. A snarling Pettis shakes off the blow and continues on. MMAFighting scores it 10-9 Thompson Round 2: Thompson picks up the second frame right where he left off as he threatens with a right high kick before attacking with his signature side kick. Pettis eats another high kick but responds with a straight right to the jaw. Pettis showing signs of damage as blood leaks from his mouth. Thompson relying heavily on his kicks now as he connects with a high, body and leg kick. Pettis responds with a series of lead leg kicks. Halfway through the round now and Thompson continues to land at will on his durable opponent. Thompson finding a home for his right jab now as he lands three straight on the busted up nose of Pettis. Walking his opponent into the fence. Thompson lowers his hands, leaving himself open for an attack. Taking advantage of the window, Pettis unloads with a picture perfect superman punch square on the chin of Thompson, sending him tumbling to the canvas The referee jumps in! Anthony Pettis knocks out Stephen Thompson! Official result: Anthony Pettis def. Stephen Thompson via KO (superman punch) at 4:55 of Round 2