UFC fighter cringes while reliving brutal knockout from Anthony Pettis
ESPN / wonderboymma (Instagram)UFC superstar Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson looked back at his brutal Fight Night 148 knockout at the hands of Anthony Pettis during a Twitch broadcast.
The UFC boasts an extensive roster of some of the most gifted mixed martial artists in the world, showcasing their talents in front of millions.
Fighters at the highest level often come into fights sporting a bloodthirsty mantra, in a bid to scaremonger their opponent before they even step foot in the octagon.
Andrius Petrucenia (Flickr)Indeed, the stakes were just as high as both Thompson and Pettis were set to lock horns as two of the best Welterweight strikers in the division. It was always a matter of when (not if) we’d see either fighter land a devastating blow.
Given Thompson’s proficiency in karate and Pettis’ knack at taekwondo, plenty assumed it would be a kick that’d turn the tide in either fighter’s favor. Although it ended up being an audacious superman punch from Pettis that ultimately sealed the deal.
During his Wonderboy Thompson Takeover on March 20, the 37-year-old relived what it was like to be on the receiving end of such a lethal punch.
In the build-up to Pettis’ punch, Wonderboy could barely watch while reviewing the footage. “Here it comes,” the fighter repeated before stating how his body completely “stiffened up” in response to the blow.
After looking back at the footage, Thompson explained how Pettis’ momentum off the cage helped him generate the power behind his ‘superman’ punch.
Wonderboy then went on to say how it was the two strikes that were landed on him while on the ground that ended up hurting the most. “Somebody needs to put a meme of my soul rising up out of my body,” the fighter joked.
Many fighters would struggle to recover from such a traumatic knockout, especially since his face was quite literally “crushed” as Thompson aptly put it.
However, Wonderboy bounced back at UFC 244, as he seemed to be on top of his striking game once again — dominating Vincente Luque with his insane strike rate through all three rounds.
Looks like Thompson has well and truly learned his lesson, after he gave Pettis a little too much room in the octagon!