Dana White: Anthony Pettis Did What Tyron Woodley ‘Couldn’t Do Twice’

UFC President Dana White was so impressed with Anthony “Showtime” Pettis’ knockout of Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson that he made an interesting point.

Pettis looked great in his welterweight debut. He took his licks in round one and most of round two. However, with just five ticks left in the second frame, Pettis landed a Superman punch on the chin of “Wonderboy”. The win adds to the mess that is the 170-pound division.

Here’s what White had to say about his newest welterweight contender’s amazing performance (via MMAFighting):

“Pettis was a +385 underdog, huge underdog. I loved his gameplan from the beginning,” White said on the ESPN+ post-fight show. “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,” White continued, “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.”

Conor & Dana’s Praise

Pettis’ name began to trend on Twitter right after he cashed in as a large underdog. His highlight-reel KO was met with praise from former foe Rafael dos Anjos who tweeted that a rematch might be in order later in the year. But when Conor McGregor welcomes you into an elite MMA club, you’ve really made it.

Welcome to the club and congratulations.
Now who fucking wants it? https://t.co/XrNU4VDc3Z

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 24, 2019

As far as who “Showtime” will share the Octagon with next, well, it looks like he has some options.

“Listen, I like any match-up for him after what he did tonight,” White said. “Very impressive. A very impressive gameplan. He came in, he executed. ‘Wonderboy’ was busting him up in the first round, the second round. He kept his composure, stuck to [what] I’m assuming was the gameplan — I don’t know that — but he looked damn good tonight.”