UFC champ Anthony "Showtime" Pettis brought Saturday night’s match in Nashville to an abrupt ending by throwing a “Superman Punch” that completely knocked out his opponent in the second round with just seconds remaining. Pettis’ fight against fellow welterweight and two-time title challenger Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson was the main event for UFC Fight Night 148 in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Saturday. Odds for the match were highest in Thompson's favor. But Pettis delivered a deadly punch to his opponent's jaw in the second round that sent Thompson down to the canvas. CONOR MCGREGOR ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY SMASHING, STEALING FAN'S PHONE IN MIAMI The blow appeared to have had knocked out Thompson cold, but Pettis followed up with two additional punches to his face before referee Herb Dean got between the fighters and called the match to a halt. GET THE FOX NEWS APP Prior to Saturday's fight -- which was his first at 170 pounds -- Pettis' career in the sport was widely believed to be waning, having lost the last six of his previous 10 fights, according to stats from ESPN. He has previously fought in the lightweight and featherweight division, Forbes reported.<doc-sep>Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight ninjas Anthony Pettis and Stephen Thompson threw down last night (March 23, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 148 inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s been an entertaining few years from Pettis, but he’s wound up on the wrong side of some losses that have largely eliminated him from title contention at his home weight class of 155 pounds. Rather than start over at Lightweight, “Showtime” called for an entertaining match up at 170 pounds, looking to find out for himself whether the grass was greener at Welterweight. His debut would not be easy though, as “Wonderboy” was a certified contender. In truth, Thompson has not definitively lost in years — the man could very easily have won the title in his rematch with Tyron Woodley. Things didn’t quite work out that way though, leaving Thompson in need of a win to get him back in the mix. Pettis looked to pressure “Wonderboy” early, backing his foe up behind a high guard. Both men were looking to kick: Thompson flung up an early high kick early and stabbed at the mid-section with side kicks, whereas Pettis looked to slam round kicks to the body and leg depending on Thompson’s stance. In the first half of the round, Pettis seemed to land the harder kicks between the two, doing well to block his foe’s kicks. As a result, “Wonderboy” grew more active with his hands, darting in-and-out with fast combinations. Nothing incredibly dramatic landed, but Pettis still walked back to his corner with a bloody nose. Thompson took some hard kicks but won the first round. Both men doubled down on their strategies in the second. Thompson continued to show off his speed, shooting jabs into Pettis’ face and landing quick kicks as Pettis advanced. None of those strikes deterred Pettis though, who continued to stalk forward and throw the leg kick at every opportunity. Most notably, Pettis was chopping across Thompson’s waist, aiming at the back leg. In addition to the jab, Thompson’s lead leg grew more effective. The side kick landed to the chest more often, allowing Thompson to begin hooking off to the face as well. A good deal of leg kicks aside, but the fight seemed to be going well for Thompson, who was landing at a higher rate and doing a lot of damage to Pettis’ face. It ended in an instant (watch highlights here). As Thompson pushed forward behind his side kick, Pettis parried it a bit past him and got Thompson out of position. The Karateka was still reasonably far back from Pettis, so “Showtime” jumped in the air with something of a Superman Punch/jumping hook hybrid, catching Thompson full on the chin. Like last weekend’s Welterweight knockout, the defeated fighter was instantly unconscious but ate a few more shots on the way down. This is a fascinating knockout and great performance from Pettis. Perhaps the most interesting part of the finish was just how opportunistic it was: Pettis had not previously shown a strategy of passing the side kick by and countering with his hands. That’s always the risk of side kicks, but Pettis immediately capitalized on a very slight opening in the biggest way possible. It had nothing directly to do with his overall game plan of dedicated leg chopping, but I expect Duke Roufus had Pettis drilling for this scenario quite a bit anyway. Related Anthony Pettis Wants Welterweight Showdown With McGregor What does a massive Welterweight knockout mean for Anthony Pettis? Let’s be honest here, this win may make him a Top 5-ranked contender, but is Pettis going to fare well against an even bigger class of pressure wrestler like Kamaru Usman or Colby Covington? Probably not. Let’s avoid that by matching Pettis with a Welterweight contender unlikely to grind on him — someone like Santiago Ponzinibbio or Jorge Masvidal. Thompson looked pretty sharp last night. His kicks and jabs were ridiculously quick, and though his legs showed some bruising, he did not yet seem to be suffering any consequences from the low kicks. Prior to the right hand knockout, very few of Pettis’ punches were landing at all. It’s unfortunate that despite his mostly strong showing, this loss is likely the nail in Thompson’s coffin as a contender. The 36-year-old striker is very deep into his combat sports career, meaning he’s unlikely to grow dramatically from here. He’s no longer just a win or two away from the title, as a long win streak is mandatory to recover from losing three of four. Last night, Anthony Pettis rallied in the second round to end his opponent’s night early. Who should Pettis face next? For complete UFC Fight Night 148 results and play-by-play, click HERE!<doc-sep>
Image : ESPN+ The main event of Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night card lasted two rounds, and Anthony Pettis spent the bulk of that time getting picked apart by Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. It was a suitably thorough performance from one of the UFC’s most accomplished kickboxers, right up until the moment Pettis bounced off the cage and knocked Thompson out with a Superman punch. This is comfortably the best knockout of the year—move on over, Johnny Walker and Jorge Masvidal—and it’s the most dramatic fight-ending strike since Yair Rodriguez’s blind Hail Mary elbow in November 2018. Thompson’s superior range proved a uniquely difficult challenge for Pettis in his first welterweight fight in 11 years. Wonderboy comfortably kept his opponent on the end of an unpredictable serving of weird kicks, and mixed in some guard-splitting jabs and counter combinations. Pettis countered Thompson’s kicks with leg kicks, which might have helped him set up his fight-ending punch by robbing Thompson of his quickness. Pettis, who has basically never had a boring fight, is a welcome addition to the top of the UFC welterweight ranks, which are swollen with pressure wrestlers and old guys. He’s shown that he can bang at three weight classes; after this victory, he’s now only the third-ever UFC fighter to win at 145, 155, and 170 pounds. At every stop, Pettis’s run has been defined by a willingness to try something foolish with a low success rate. He might not necessarily be able to pull off a devastating cage kick against fighters like Kamaru Usman or Colby Covington, but he’s an endlessly creative fighter, and it’ll be fun to watch him try.