Stephen Thompson has posted a clip in which he watches himself get knocked out by former lightweight champion Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis.
‘Wonderboy’ met Pettis in the main event at UFC Nashville 12 months ago. Thompson was a considerable favourite heading into the fight as he holds an impressive record at 170lbs. Not only is he a two-time title challenger, but he also has signature wins over Robert Whittaker, Rory MacDonald, Johnny Hendricks, and Jorge Masvidal. The 37-year-old technical striker also held a considerable size advantage over ‘Showtime’ who had previously fought as low as featherweight.
On fight night, the bout was going as many had expected. Thompson was firing off shots and pretty much dominating the fight in the first round. However, in the second Pettis uncorked a hellacious superman punch off the cage which immediately wiped out Thompson – who suffered the first knockout defeat of his career.
It was a massive setback for ‘Wonderboy’ who had lost his previous fight to Darren Till and had now lost three of his last four. One year on though, he is able to see the funny side, as you can tell from this recent reaction video.
Since this fight, Thompson has rebounded with an impressive win over rising contender Vicente Luque. ‘Wonderboy’ looked unfazed by the KO defeat and fought better than ever against his tough and durable American-Brazilian opponent.
Who would you like Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson fight next?