UFC Fight Night 148: Thompson vs. Pettis | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Nashville — Pettis’ WW Debut & Thompson’s Tough Run

3. Quick Stats

4. Main Event: Pettis’ Superman Punch KO of Thompson

5. Blaydes Dominates, Barber Rolls, Vera Impresses & The Card

6. Full Results

7. Bonuses & Awards

8. Records & Milestones

9. Legacy & Impact

10. FAQ

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Introduction

UFC Fight Night 148: Thompson vs. Pettis took place on Saturday, March 23, 2019 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee — broadcast live on ESPN+ as ESPN+ 6. The card drew 10,863 fans for a gate of $939,095.99. The main event was a welterweight bout between Stephen Thompson and Anthony Pettis — Pettis’s debut at welterweight after a career built primarily at lightweight.

Pettis knocked out Thompson at 4:55 of round two with a superman punch, earning Performance of the Night. Randa Markos earned Performance of the Night for a round-one armbar of Angela Hill. Bryce Mitchell and Bobby Moffett earned Fight of the Night for their grappling-first preliminary exchange. Curtis Blaydes defeated Justin Willis by unanimous decision in the co-main event. Jussier Formiga defeated Deiveson Figueiredo by decision in Figueiredo’s first UFC loss.

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Nashville — Pettis’ WW Debut & Thompson’s Tough Run

Bridgestone Arena is Nashville’s primary indoor arena and home of the NHL’s Nashville Predators. The 10,863 attendance and $939,095 gate were solid for a mid-sized market card. Thompson was on a two-fight losing streak — the Woodley title fight TKO at UFC 228 and the Till decision at London FN147 — making Nashville a must-win competitive environment. Pettis was moving from lightweight to welterweight for his Nashville debut after a LW career that had produced the UFC LW Championship, multiple PoN finishes, and recent losses.

Pettis’s welterweight move was commercially logical: he had gone 1-4 in his previous five UFC lightweight fights. His physical frame — longer and heavier than most LWs — and his striking creativity were hypothesised to suit WW better. The main event matchup of two technical strikers with significant finishing backgrounds produced the Nashville card’s most commercially anticipated individual contest.

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Quick Stats

📅 Date: Saturday, March 23, 2019 (ESPN+ 6)

📍 Venue: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee

👥 Attendance: 10,863

💰 Gate: $939,095.99

📺 Broadcast: ESPN+ 6 (ESPN+ streaming)

🏆 Main Event: Stephen Thompson vs. Anthony Pettis — WW (Pettis WW DEBUT; Thompson on 2-fight losing streak; Luis Peña missed weight vs. Peterson; fined 30%)

✅ Result: Pettis def. Thompson via KO (superman punch) — R2, 4:55 (PoN $50k; Pettis bounced off the cage and connected; Thompson laid out cold; Pettis WW DEBUT WIN)

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Main Event: Pettis’ Superman Punch KO of Thompson

Round one was Thompson’s: his karate-based footwork, rear kick threats, and counter-striking produced 47 of 107 total strikes to Pettis’s 32 of 55. Thompson’s movement and distance management gave him a competitive edge that appeared to continue into round two. Pettis’s nose was bloodied by the end of round one while Thompson looked unmarked.

Round two produced Thompson’s increased forward pressure — the tactical change that provided Pettis the counter-striking opportunity. Pettis timed Thompson’s advance, bounced off the cage, and threw the superman punch that connected flush at 4:55. The single punch laid Thompson out cold. The Nashville crowd’s reaction reflected the shock of watching a fighter who had dominated round one get stopped by a single punch in round two — one of the year’s most dramatically reversed individual competitive narratives.

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Blaydes Dominates, Barber Rolls, Vera Impresses & The Card

Curtis Blaydes’s 30-27, 30-26, 30-25 unanimous decision over Justin Willis was the Nashville card’s most comprehensive co-main dominance display. Blaydes’ wrestling, takedown success, and ground-and-pound volume produced the rare 30-25 score from one judge across three rounds. His Nashville win maintained his HW contender position and continued the career narrative that produced the Ngannou rematch at UFC Fight Night 141 in Beijing.

Jussier Formiga’s unanimous decision over Deiveson Figueiredo was Figueiredo’s first UFC loss — after three consecutive UFC wins. Formiga’s veteran experience and 10 years of UFC FLW competition produced the tactical patience that Figueiredo’s aggressive style could not overcome consistently across three rounds. Maycee Barber’s second consecutive TKO — of JJ Aldrich with knee and punches at 3:01 of round two — demonstrated the forward-pressure physicality that her subsequent FW and SBW career amplified. Marlon Vera’s first-round TKO of Frankie Saenz at 1:25 showed the improved BW technique that his subsequent career built upon.

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Full Results

Main Card (ESPN+)

Anthony Pettis def. Stephen Thompson — KO (superman punch) — R2, 4:55 — WW (PoN $50k; PETTIS WW DEBUT; bounced off cage; Thompson R1 dominator KO’d in R2 by single punch)

Curtis Blaydes def. Justin Willis — Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-25) — HW (comprehensive domination; 30-25 from one judge; Blaydes HW contender build continues)

John Makdessi def. Jesus Pinedo — Unanimous Decision (30-27x2, 29-28) — LW

Jussier Formiga def. Deiveson Figueiredo — Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28x2) — FLW (FIGUEIREDO’S FIRST UFC LOSS! Formiga veteran experience outworked 3-0 UFC Figueiredo)

Luis Peña def. Steven Peterson — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — FW (catchweight; Peña MISSED WEIGHT; fined 30% of purse)

Maycee Barber def. JJ Aldrich — TKO (knee and punches) — R2, 3:01 — Women’s FLW (Barber 2nd consecutive TKO; future FW/SBW contender building career)

Preliminary Card (ESPN / ESPN+)

Bryce Mitchell def. Bobby Moffett — Unanimous Decision (29-28x3) — FW (FotN $50k each; grappling-first war; Moffett’s d’arce attempts cost him; Mitchell chained subs throughout)

Marlon Vera def. Frankie Saenz — TKO (punches) — R1, 1:25 — BW (Vera building BW career; future BW title challenger!)

Jennifer Maia def. Alexis Davis — Unanimous Decision (29-28x3) — Women’s FLW

Randa Markos def. Angela Hill — Submission (armbar) — R1, 4:24 — Women’s SBW (PoN $50k; Markos back control + armbar; controlled Hill on ground)

Chris Gutierrez def. Ryan MacDonald — Unanimous Decision (30-27x3) — BW

Jordan Espinosa def. Eric Shelton — Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28x2) — FLW

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Bonuses & Awards

🥇 Fight of the Night: Bryce Mitchell + Bobby Moffett — $50,000 each

🥇 Performance of the Night: Anthony Pettis + Randa Markos — $50,000 each

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Records & Milestones

• Pettis’s WW debut KO — first UFC WW result; carried UFC LW championship to WW.

• Figueiredo’s first UFC loss (3-0 before Nashville; Formiga ended the streak).

• Thompson’s 2nd consecutive loss — London (Till) and Nashville (Pettis).

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Legacy & Impact

Pettis’s Nashville WW debut KO launched a WW career phase that produced a submission win over Stephen Thompson in a rematch context and additional WW appearances before his eventual return to LW. Figueiredo’s Nashville loss was a competitive calibration that preceded the 12-fight UFC FLW career arc producing the championship at UFC 256 in December 2020. Marlon Vera’s Nashville R1 TKO of Saenz was an early-career step toward the BW contendership that produced his title fight against Dominick Cruz at UFC 280 in October 2022.

Blaydes’s Nashville dominant win over Willis maintained his HW top-five position after the Beijing loss to Ngannou. His subsequent HW career produced wins over Junior dos Santos, Alexander Volkov, and others before championship conversation. Maycee Barber’s consecutive TKO wins established the aggressive forward-pressure style that produced her FLW career build before a knee injury interrupted her trajectory.

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FAQ

What was the superman punch technique?

The superman punch is delivered by faking a kick with the rear leg, then driving that leg back as the rear-hand punch extends forward, generating a jumping-forward power strike. Pettis’s variation bounced off the cage — using the octagon fence as a launching surface to generate additional forward momentum and an unusual strike angle. The bounce-off-the-cage element added spatial unpredictability: Thompson’s defensive positioning had been calibrated to Pettis’s typical striking range, and the cage-assisted trajectory altered the expected angle.

What was Figueiredo’s position before Nashville?

Figueiredo was a 31-year-old Belém, Brazil flyweight who had gone 3-0 in the UFC after his debut loss to Jussier Formiga in 2017 — Formiga was the fighter who had beaten him in his UFC debut and now stopped his win streak. His Nashville loss by decision — 30-27, 29-28 margins — was a competitive result that media described as Formiga’s veteran experience winning late rounds that Figueiredo’s early aggressiveness had not secured. His subsequent FLW career produced the championship at UFC 256 in December 2020.

What was the Mitchell vs. Moffett Fight of the Night?

Mitchell was a 24-year-old Armorel, Arkansas featherweight known as ‘Thug Nasty’ with a wrestling-submission background. Moffett had won six professional fights by d’arce choke. Their Nashville FotN was a grappling war that media described as one of the most technically sophisticated submission-grappling exchanges in a UFC FW preliminary fight — with Moffett’s d’arce attempts repeatedly attempted and turned against him, giving Mitchell the decision margin.

What was Blaydes’ Nashville dominance?

Blaydes’ 30-25 score from one judge reflected total dominance across all three rounds: takedowns, ground control, and ground-and-pound volume that Willis could not address. Willis had gone 7-1 professionally before Nashville, with his only loss being his UFC debut. Blaydes’s comprehensive handling of Willis’ physical HW size and forward-pressure style was the most technically complete individual performance of his HW UFC career to that point.

What was Marlon Vera’s significance?

Vera was a 26-year-old Chone, Ecuador bantamweight who had gone 11-5 professionally before Nashville. His Nashville R1 TKO of Saenz — a San Diego BW with UFC experience — demonstrated the striking improvement that distinguished his 2019 career from his earlier UFC inconsistency. His subsequent BW career produced wins over Song Yadong, Brian Kelleher, Davey Grant, and Sean O’Malley before his BW title fight against Dominick Cruz at UFC 280 in October 2022.

Why did Thompson struggle after the Woodley title fight?

Thompson’s two-fight losing streak — the Woodley TKO title fight loss at UFC 228 and the Till decision at London FN147 — reflected competitive challenges after his two Woodley draw-and-loss series. His karate-based style produced exceptional footwork and counter-striking that matched most WW technical qualities, but aggressive forward-pressure fighters at top-five level — Woodley’s wrestling and power, Till’s reach and weight, Pettis’s creativity — exploited his stylistic preferences.

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References

UFC Fight Night 148: Thompson vs. Pettis — Wikipedia

UFC Fight Night 148 — Tapology