Anthony Pettis took just under ten minutes to defeat Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson on his welterweight debut at UFC Nashville on Saturday night.
In the main event at the Bridgestone Arena, Showtime knocked out Wonderboy - the number four ranked welterweight going into the fight - with just five seconds remaining in the second round.
Pettis used what he described as a "superman hook" to KO his opponent.
😱 SHOWTIME SUPERMAN PUNCH 😱
Anthony Pettis lives up to his name with a stunning knockout punch 😳#UFCNashville pic.twitter.com/K3645zz3tE— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) March 24, 2019
Speaking to Daniel Cormier in the octagon after the fight, Pettis said:
He was catching me with his jab and I knew that he had the range on me. I was trying to eat him up with the low kicks. I knew I was hurting his back leg and that's what set up that right hand.
The former UFC lightweight champion said he felt good coming into the fight. "The weight cut was killing me at 145," said Pettis.
Pettis added that he will continue to fight at 170lbs but is also not done at lightweight.
Wonderboy was taken to hospital after the fight but was later able to acknowledge the skill of Pettis via his Facebook page.
"After 80 fights I’ve never been KO’d – this time by a small guy," said Thompson.
"I can’t believe he got me with the Superman punch. Golly. Superman off the cage. It was so ninja I didn’t even see it coming.
"I was piecing him up with the jab. I was trying to break his arms with the roundhouse kick. I guess the side kicks, I switched over too much. His punches were slow. The heck? I don’t remember anything. Next thing I knew I was in the back wondering what happened."
