Former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis was the first man to eliminate Stephen Thompson.
Anthony Pettis and Stephen Thompson clashed in a prototypic striking main event in March 2019. The two welter weights fought for title conflicts in what was one of the largest fighting of the year.
Pettis chose to return to the Welterweight division after the actions of victories and losing to Dustin Poirier, Tony Ferguson and Max Holloway, among others. Thompson, who fell short at a UFC title in back-to-back fights against Tyron Woodley, wanted to go back to the title mix after a loss for drones.
The UFC Nashville Main Event that was delivered in a large way with a huge knockout from De Kom.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Anthony Pettis handed Stephen Thompson his first knockout loss of the career with one punch
Thompson had his way early with pettis, used his length and reach to frustrate Pettis and to leave the backup of his opponent against the fence. Pettis struggled to produce a considerable output during the first round of the fight, while Thompson opened a nasty cut on his face.
Thompson donated pressure in round 2 and at one point left the former UFC champion Pettis on the edge of a potential interruption. But with five seconds left in round 2, Pettis bounced off the cage and threw a superman punch that landed clean to Thompson's Kin, immediately apart.
While the Nashville -in addition to a frenzy, Pettis chose a unique way to celebrate his victory by tasting his own blood from the cut on his face.
View the Pettis finish below.
Pettis became the first man to eliminate Thompson during the MMA career of the latter. Thompson was not eliminated or submitted by his first 18 professional MMA fights.
Pettis then losing Nate Diaz and Diego Ferreira before he signed at the PFL in 2021. He has not fought in MMA since 2022 and returned in July in a unanimous decision loss for Chris Avila.
UFC fans are angry with the next booking by Stephen Thompson in the midst of recent Skid
Flash Vooruit to 2025, and Thompson is days away from making his return to the UFC Octagon while he seems to bounce back from a second wild knockout loss. Thompson will be confronted with Gabriel Bonfim this Saturday in Nashville in his first fight since he was eliminated by Joaquin Buckley on UFC 307 last October.
UFC fans are not happy with the Matchmakers' decision to book Thompson against an emerging star as Bonfim for his comeback fight. Thompson has lost four of his last five fights, with the only exception as a TKO victory at Kevin Holland in December 2022.
The 42-year-old Thompson will try to return the clock and treat fans to a different peak-reel victory at UFC Nashville. A loss against Bonfim could possibly spell the end of Thompson's UFC official period.
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