(Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA): This past December, current UFC® lightweight contender Anthony “Showtime” Pettis took the MMA world by storm with an eye-opening flying kick that precipitated his victory over Ben Henderson at the final WEC® event in history. With that strike, now known as the “Showtime Kick,” Pettis entered the national consciousness, as he was featured on highlight reels on sports stations across the country.
Now, “Showtime” has the opportunity to attain a level of mainstream acceptance that few MMA fighters get the opportunity to reach, as he’s been nominated for ESPN’s “Play of the Year.” MMA is also represented in the “Upset of the Year” and “Fighter of the Year” categories, as Fabricio Werdum’s shocking defeat of Fedor Emelianenko, Georges St-Pierre, and Jon Jones are nominated, respectively.
Currently matched up against a tag team interception by Oklahoma St., Pettis’ kick is one of sixteen nominations for “Play of the Year.” Fans will need to vote for the kick for it to proceed through the tournament. It is the only representation of combat sports in the field. Fans can vote online for the ESPY’s at http://espn.go.com/espys/#!/voting/.
Before the “Kick heard around the world,” Pettis had been simply considered a talented up-and-comer with a bright future. Since that victory, which earned “Showtime” a place in fight history as the last WEC Lightweight Champion, Pettis has cemented his status as a legit UFC® title contender, despite a recent setback against Clay Guida. Trained by Duke Roufus at the Roufusport gym in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pettis has garnered a worldwide following that is now on the cusp of growing even larger.
For more information on Roufusport, please visit http://milwaukeemma.com/.
