Stephen Thompson will welcome former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis to the Welterweight division this Sat. (March 23, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 148 inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Before then, let’s take a trip down memory lane to see one of “Wonderboy’s” most dominant performances inside the Octagon. Back in February of 2016, Stephen found himself locked in the cage with power-punching Johny Hendricks, who had just lost his 170-pound strap two bouts prior.
From the jump, it was apparent Stephen was going to use his height and reach advantage to his favor, sticking to his traditional karate stance to keep “Bigg Rigg” and his bombs at bay. But it was Thompson’s stick-and-move attack that really had Hendricks flustered, as “Wonderboy” was able to get in, connect, and bounce out in the blink of an eye.
After peppering Hendricks at will for the first three minutes, Stephen clipped “Bigg Rigg” with a hard right hand that had him wobbled. After smelling blood, Thompson put his foot on the pedal and unleashed a fury of combinations that ultimately dropped the former champion and forced a referee stoppage.
After coming up short against Darren Till in his last fight, Thompson now looks to get back to the winner’s podium when he faces one of the most creative strikers in the sport of MMA. Pettis, meanwhile, aims to collect a win in what will be his third weight class.
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