In one of the biggest UFC upsets of the year so far, Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis defeated Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson by KO in the dying seconds of the 2nd round.
Ninja turtles
In a fight dubbed the battle of the Ninjas by Thompson himself, it was fitting that the fight was ended via a spectacular Superman punch. The blow from Pettis was as unexpected as it was against the pattern of the fight and landed with devastating effect.
Only going one way
Up until that point, the fight was a masterclass in striking from Wonderboy. His jab, in particular, was able to land at will on Pettis. By the middle of the second round, Pettis was a bloody mess as he marched forward attempting to close the distance on his bigger and more agile opponent.
Achilles heel
However, what is clear on re-watching the fight, Pettis was fighting to a particular game plan. Chopping at the legs of Thompson to restrict his movement and attempting to exploit a defect in Thompson’s game when he switches to the southpaw position.
The breakdown
This video by The Weasle explains perfectly how Thompson has a tendency to stamp down on his front sidekick from the southpaw position, and doesn’t shift his feet correctly when opponents counter the kick:
Cherry-picked
With hindsight, it is now clear why Pettis called out Wonderboy. Wonderboy loves to stand and strike which neutralises his height and natural weight advantage. He is susceptible to leg kicks and his defence when he switches southpaw has holes in it.
Also, Pettis had nothing to lose reputation wise. Very few people gave him a chance against Thompson. Before the weekend, Thompson’s only defeats were (debatable) decisions against Darren Till and then Champion Tyron Woodley.
Kudos
For the first nine minutes of this fight, it was clear that Pettis was unlikely to win a decision. Thompson was piecing him up on the feet. It was going to take something spectacular for Pettis to get his hand raised and kudos to Showtime, he got it and lived up to his moniker.
The blood-licking celebration was epic too.
Is it just me or this guy fights and moves around like Wanderlei Silva?
The game went exactly the way he had planned it...Just like you've said..he kept on hammering his opponent's legs...and then BANG.
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My dream is to be World Lightweight Champion in the UFC. Have more money than I know what to do with. And have a great life for my kids, grandkids, and everyone in my family.
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The blood = great victory
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UFC is just awesome. I was training Thai boxing and brazilian jiu-jitsu for one year and still regret it, that I had to give it up (in my new town there is no school)
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Pleased for Pettis he is such a great fighter to watch. I never gave him a chance of beating Wonderboy in the build-up though I must admit. Thought Wonderboy would just pick him apart for the entire fight.
Wonderboy took the loss well though and while in the hospital bed afterwards even talked about making a move up a division as Pettis had done so he didn't have to cut so much weight. Which I think would be very interesting.
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I don't think there was many people who saw this happening...
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