UFC Fight Night 148 is in the books, as the ESPN+-televised went down from inside Bridgestone Arena last night (Sat., March 23, 2019) in Nashville, Tennessee in an exciting night of fights. In the headlining act, Anthony Pettis knocked out Stephen Thompson in a shocking Welterweight debut (see it again here). In the co-headlining act, Curtis Blaydes got back in the win column with a dominant win over the red-hot Justin Willis (recap).
Biggest Winner: Anthony Pettis
Most didn’t expect Pettis — who previously competed at both Lightweight and Featherweight — to take take out Thompson, the No. 4 ranked welterweight in the world, in the violent fashion that he did in his first fight at 170-pounds. But he did just that and backed up his promise to shock the world by connecting on a perfectly-placed superman punch that slept “Wonderboy” long before he hit the canvas and ate two more shots.
It’s a huge win for “Showtime,” who now holds wins in three weight classes. He also holds the bragging rights to be the only man to ever knockout out the Karate expert in an MMA cage or in any form of combat in more than 80 fights. Something Anthony’s much more powerful teammate Tyron Woodley couldn’t do in 50 minutes of action. Afterward, “Showtime” revealed he wants to fight at both 170 and 155 pounds. While that may slow his run to a title if he keeps moving up and down, it seems at this point Pettis simply wants to take part in exciting matchups. And wherever he goes, there will be plenty to choose form now that he has the chance to dabble in multiple divisions.
Runner Up: Jussier Formiga
Deiveson Figueiredo had never tasted defeat in his pro mixed martial arts (MMA) career, reeling off a whopping 15 straight wins, including his first four bouts inside the Octagon. That was until he ran into Jussier, the man they call “Ant.” for 15 minutes, Formiga and Deiveson went at it with Jussier getting the better of the grappling battle in the eyes of the judges. Aside from handing his foe the first loss of his career, Formiga collected his fourth straight win. While he wont get Henry Cejudo right away like he wished if Dana White has his way, he does make a case to get the next title shot against “The Messenger” at 125 pounds. Assuming the division sticks round.
Runner Up: Curtis Blaydes
“Razor” proved he still is, and always will be, a legit threat in the Heavyweight division despite his previous lighting-quick knockout loss to Francis Ngannou by taking to and completely dominating Justin Willis from the opening bell. And to the surprise of many, he did it with his wrestling, rag-dolling “Big Pretty” from pillar to post. It was perhaps a challenge Curtis took personally, as Willis was very adamant his foe wouldn’t have nothing to offer him in the grappling department since he trains with Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier on a daily basis. By shutting out Willis completely — one judge had it 50-45 — Curtis silenced the very-talkative Willis in what is turning out to be a very personal rivalry. The good thing for Blaydes is that he likely won’t have to see Justin inside the cage for quite some time, as he’s going up while Willis has to start from scratch.
Biggest Loser: Stephen Thompson
Losing is hard enough, but I’m sure getting knocked out for the first time in an MMA fight is a pill that’s a bit tougher to swallow. The loss to Pettis gives “Wonderboy” a two-fight losing streak, the first of his combat career. That couldn’t have come at a worse time, as the 170-pound weight class is very stacked at the moment, which means his climb up to another title fight gets that much tougher.
Not only does he have to rack up one impressive win after another, but he has to hope the rest of the top dogs don’t go on impressive runs of their own. The loss will surely drop him down a few pegs in the rankings. Still, patience will be the key for Stephen, who now has to go into his next fight with the possibility of losing three in a row weighing heavy in the back of his mind. But he’s still a legit threat to anyone who steps into the cage with him, so don’t be underestimating or writing him off just yet.
For complete UFC Nashville results and coverage click here.