Anthony Pettis spektakulära ”Showtime kick” hade 10 års jubileum igår.
Det var igår 10 år sedan som Anthony Pettis sprang upp för burväggen och sparkade Benson Henderson i huvudet med sin spektakulära ”Showtime Kick”. Benson var obesegrad inne i den blå buren men efter ett 25 minuters krig var det Pettis som stod där med händerna i vädret som segraren.
Även om segern var en stor grej är det sparken som har satt en markering i MMA-historien. Matchen utspelades sig lämpligt nog också på sista galan för WEC innan organisationen slogs ihop med UFC.
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Med bara någon minut kvar av matchen fick Pettis alla vi som tittade att ställa oss skrikande på stolarna eller på soffan (om man tittade hemma). Han gör nämligen något vi bara tidigare sett i filmer som The Matrix. Pettis tar sats, springer efter burväggen och levererar en huvudspark på Benson som faller till marken.
Kommer ihåg hela matchen
Pettis pratade med MMA Fighting om sparken och matchen.
“I remember everything.”
“I remember walking out to the arena, and it was like crickets,”
”No one’s cheering at all for me because it’s his hometown. In the fight there were so many great exchanges, so many great moments. I remember I took his back, in the second round, I rode him like a backpack, put a body triangle in and I’m attacking to the neck. I had him there for probably two, two-and-half, three minutes. I jump off his back, it’s the start of the third round, and my legs were shot. I was like, ‘Oh sh*t.’
“I started massaging them out, I’m like, I’ve got to figure out how to get these legs back, that was a long time squeezing on that dude’s body. Then he takes my back, I reverse him. I remember I had him in kimura lock, I had his arm to the back of his head and I’m like, ‘Yeah, there’s no more submission attempts on this guy. He’s like Gumby, it doesn’t hurt him.”
“I’d like to say it was a strategic move, but I mean, when I was in that flow, my mind was just in such control and my body was just in sync with my mind, and the way I was moving was just like, I found my zone,”
“You could see it. I hit him with an Ali shuffle and then he backs up and falls on the floor, and that’s when I knew I had him. My timing is on-point and I started landing these punches, but I couldn’t land the kick. That’s why I kind of had the idea, I gotta do something different if I want to land this kick.
“I remember he backed up to the cage – I’m like, ‘Go for it.’ I didn’t even think I hit it. I remember I threw the kick, and I turn around and I see him on the ground. [I thought], ‘Oh sh*t, it actually worked.’ And I tried to go finish him off, but Ben’s a tough dude.”
På lördag gör Pettis sin 20:e match i UFC när han möter Alex Morono på UFC Vegas 17. Oavsett hur det går kommer alla minnas den där sparken han lyckades med för 10 år sedan. Den är inpräntad i MMA-historien för evigt.
