After going 3-6 in his last nine fights, former lightweight king Anthony Pettis has decided to take his talents to welterweight division this weekend on ESPN+. Standing across the octagon from him will be two-time title challenger Stephen Thompson, who looks to get back in the win column and another crack at the belt.
It’s a puzzling matchup, to say the least. Pettis isn’t a particularly large 155 lber, and likely doesn’t do much to cut the weight. And while his record hasn’t been spectacular as of late, some of his performances have been just that, particularly the second round submission of Michael Chiesa, and, in all honesty, in many ways his two-round war with Tony Ferguson showed a different animal than the guy who lost his title over five years ago.
Sure, Ferguson beat him, but Pettis came as close as anyone to finishing arguably the greatest lightweight on the planet, maybe ever. He’s still a threat to plenty of guys in the division, and there are loads of fun fights for him to show us he’s still got what it takes.
Yet, for some reason, he has decided to call out the karate master in a weight class he should take no part in. Thompson looked to be in limbo as well after failing twice to take the throne from reigning king Tyron Woodley. He followed those performances up with a dominant victory over Jorge Masvidal only to drop a razor close split decision to Darren Till.
It looked as though Thompson was never going to get anywhere near a title fight again, that was until Kamaru Usman dismantled Woodley en route to claiming the throne. Now with the division wide open, Thompson has a direct path to a title fight. He’s gonna need to impress, but a new champion needs new challengers. And Thompson has all the tools.
This means “Wonderboy” not only can’t afford a loss, but in all reality, an impressive finish over “Showtime” is an absolute must. He simply can’t afford to be safe and pot shot the smaller man from a distance, he needs to show that he is the destroyer we once saw him be when he burst onto the scene finishing damn near everyone in his path.
With flashy kicks and brilliant counter punches, few fighters on the roster can match with his striking arsenal. So this begs the question, what does Pettis see that none of us do in this matchup?
The owner of the infamous “Showtime kick” is world renown in the MMA community for his wild and crazy style. At any moment, he can bust out a cartwheel kick or a spinning attack and then effortlessly transition into a dangerous submission.
As exciting as he is, though, there have always been two styles that we’ve seen beat him in recent years. The powerful pressure wrestler (which he does often times counter with slick subs) or the rangy striker. Edson Barboza, Max Holloway, and Tony Ferguson all managed to keep him on the end of their long strikes and Pettis struggled to close the distance.
Wonderboy will be the tallest and longest fighter Pettis has ever faced. His distance management skills are amongst the best on the whole roster, regardless of weight class. Thompson has the pedigree and the resume to see Pettis’ explosive moves from a mile away.
It’s also important to note that while Pettis is dangerous on the ground, his takedowns aren’t exactly the stuff of legends and Thompson has incredible sprawls. But it’s also important to note that Thompson has never been on the ground with anyone as skilled as Pettis. If “Showtime” has some tricks up his sleeves to get the fight to the floor, we could see a massive upset.
But that’s not exactly the former lightweight champ’s MO. He wants that standup war and, most importantly, he wants to have fun. The war with Ferguson was a bloody affair that saw both men smiling throughout with the loser raising his hands even at the end, just happy to put on a show for the fans.
So expecting a new wrestling game wouldn’t be a smart bet. Pettis is probably going to look to come out rejuvenated and fully hydrated with the flash and explosiveness he’s known for and overwhelm the top-ranked welterweight.
It’s a fight that doesn’t make a ton of sense. But with Pettis’ aggressiveness and Thompson’s patient countering, who cares about making sense right now. With all the interim belts and super fights going on, the value of the championship is surely diminishing. We no longer should worry about meaning and should just focus on excitement, and this fight is a whole lot of fun.
Anthony Pettis looks to throw caution to the wind and take on Stephen Thompson at welterweight with both in need of a win.
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