TUF Season 13 Finale: Anthony Pettis Delivers Showtime Kick at WEC 53
Bleacher Report’s Brett Appley:
All Anthony Pettis was trying to do was make contact when he leapt from the fence and smacked Ben Henderson in the face with his right foot, sending him crashing to the ground.
The two fighters were in facing off in the WEC 53 lightweight championship, which was the final fight ever under the WEC brand.
The previous four rounds had been almost dead even, and the winner would most likely be decided by whoever won the final round. Pettis had been struggling against Henderson’s stifling defense throughout the fight, and needed to make something happen quickly.
“I was thinking I needed to do something to land,” Pettis told MMAJunkie. “I thought I had to do something out of the box and see what happens. Luckily for me, it landed.”
Although it wasn’t technically a knockout, Pettis’ super kick led directly to his unanimous decision victory over Henderson and his acquisition of the lightweight title.
Pettis was scheduled to fight the winner of Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard for the UFC lightweight championship until the two fought to a draw and were forced to fight in a rematch. Still, Pettis will most likely get his chance at UFC glory in short time.