Many were surprised about the booking of the welterweight matchup between Anthony Pettis and Stephen Thompson. The enigma about the said fight was that it was Pettis’ first jump at 170 pounds, and being paired against one of the most unique strikers in the division in “Wonderboy.”
But “Showtime” proved that he could also do great things a higher weight class by scoring a strong statement knockout win over the two-time title contender. The victory also marked a new record for him, being the third fighter in the UFC roster to win at featherweight, lightweight and welterweight.
Anthony Pettis is the third fighter with a win at featherweight, lightweight and welterweight. He joins @kennyflorian and @TheNotoriousMMA.
(via @AndrewRDavis85 of @ESPNStatsInfo)
— Greg Rosenstein (@grosenstein) March 24, 2019
Among this list of names include TUF 1 alum Kenny Florian and Conor McGregor. After the event, “The Notorious” sent out a tweet in response to this statistic.
Welcome to the club and congratulations.
Now who fucking wants it? https://t.co/XrNU4VDc3Z— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 24, 2019
Pettis was at the ESPN broadcast table alongside Tyron Woodley and Megan Olivi when he was asked about McGregor’s tweet, which he had this to say.
“Let’s do it. Hey, 170, 155, I’m not cutting down to ’45 again, so I’m willing,” Pettis said. “That’s the fight I think the fans would love to see, too. Two strikers like that, it would be amazing.”
McGregor says he has been in talks with the UFC, and plans to return to action in July. A fight against Donald Cerrone has been brought up in the past, but the idea was eventually scrapped due to failed negotiations.
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