Anthony Pettis certainly made a statement in his welterweight debut.
The former UFC lightweight champion knocked out Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson late in the second round of their headline bout at a Fight Night event in Nashville over the weekend.
Pettis was being outstruck by Thompson throughout the first two rounds with leg kicks being his primary weapon of choice since Thompson controls distance so well. In the waning seconds of the second stanza, however, Pettis landed a Superman punch that put his opponent out cold.
Pettis only landed five head strikes in the entire fight with three of them occurring during the finishing sequence.
Thompson went 58-0 as a kickboxer and had never been finished in his MMA career prior to Saturday.
The win vaults Pettis immediately into the championship picture at 170 pounds since Thompson is a two-time title challenger in the division and went five rounds with Pettis’s training partner, former welterweight champ Tyron Woodley, on two separate occasions.
Heavyweight Curtis Blaydes, flyweight Jussier Formiga and rising women’s flyweight star Maycee Barber also picked up key wins at the event.
Here are the full results from UFC Nashville:
MAIN EVENT
— Anthony Pettis def. Stephen Thompson by knockout
— Curtis Blaydes def. Justin Willis by unanimous decision
— John Makdessi def. Jesus Pinedo by unanimous decision
— Jussier Formiga def. Deiveson Figueiredo by unanimous decision
— Luis Pena def. Steven Peterson by unanimous decision
— Maycee Barber def. JJ Aldrich by TKO
PRELIMINARY CARD
— Bryce Mitchell def. Bobby Moffett by unanimous decision
— Marlon Vera def. Frankie Saenz by TKO
— Jennifer Maia def. Alexis Davis by unanimous decision
— Randa Markos def. Angela Hill by submission (armbar)
— Chris Gutierrez def. Ryan MacDonald by unanimous decision
— Jordan Espinosa def. Eric Shelton by unanimous decision
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