Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White has massive praise for Anthony Pettis following UFC Nashville.
Pettis took on Stephen Thompson this past Saturday night (March 23). “Showtime” was the underdog going up against the third-ranked welterweight in “Wonderboy.” In his first UFC bout as a 170-pounder, the former lightweight champion knocked out Thompson in the second round.
Dana White Impressed With Anthony Pettis
Following UFC Nashville, White spoke to reporters. The UFC boss said Pettis’ ability to do what former welterweight king Tyron Woodley couldn’t do is impressive (via MMAFighting.com):
“Pettis was a +385 underdog, huge underdog. I loved his gameplan from the beginning. I’m assuming — I don’t know this — (coach) Duke Roufus studied ‘Wonderboy’ and the way that he jumps with his karate movement, it’s hard to block leg kicks, so he started busting up the legs early, both legs, on the outside, on the inside, to try to slow him down so he could punch with him. Think about this, Anthony Pettis, who was 155 and moved up to 170, was able to do what (Tyron) Woodley couldn’t do twice. I mean, that’s pretty impressive. And I’m not ragging on Tyron, which is going to be the thing that comes out of this, but what Pettis did tonight is unbelievable against a bigger [opponent]. Look at the size difference with these two tonight.”
When Woodley was the welterweight champion, he defended his gold against Thompson twice. Their first encounter ended in a majority draw. In the rematch, Woodley edged out the challenger via majority decision.
Were you surprised by how Anthony Pettis vs. Stephen Thompson ended?
