Anthony Pettis 'Showtime' Kick Seen Cageside Changed My View Of MMA

Dec 17, 2010

I was fortunate to be cageside when Anthony Pettis unleashed one of the better sporting moments of the year. That fight changed the way I look at MMA.

Dec 17, 2010 - I readily admit that I am no fan of MMA, but last night while covering the WEC 53 event in Glendale, I was sitting cageside for the Anthony Pettis "Showtime Kick." It certainly changed the way I look at the sport. What Pettis did in the final minute of the final round of a title fight against defending champion Ben Henderson will go down as one of the all-time great sporting moments I've ever witnessed.

Athletic competition is at its best when we see incredible things in incredible moments. There's a reason YouTube videos of buzzer-beating shots, walk-off home runs and Hail Mary touchdown passes are so popular. As sports fans, we are understandably attracted to amazing feats of heroism and what makes one shot or pass or hit better than countless others is the moment.

Last night, J.R. Smith had this incredible dunk, but it came in the first quarter of a regular season game that his team lost. That makes it a great play, not a great moment.

Sometimes, though, you are lucky enough to see one of these rare instances when both the timing and the caliber of the "play" combine to raise its status to legendary. That's what happened last night when Pettis unleashed his run-up-the-side-of-the-cage kick at just the right moment in just the right circumstance.

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