Anthony Pettis has been known for his head kicks.

They might be crazy but effective nonetheless. In fact, he had already knocked out two opponents with a head kick: Mike Lambrecht in March 2008 and Danny Castillo at WEC 47 in March 2010.

He is not nicknamed “Showtime” without reason.

At the final WEC event last December 16, 2010 at Glendale, Arizona, USA, Pettis challenged Ben Henderson for the WEC Lightweight Championsip with the winner becoming the #1 contender for the UFC Lightweight Championship due to the UFC/WEC merger.

In a Fight of the Year candidate, the two engaged in a back-and-forth battle. Then in the waning seconds of Round 5, one of the most amazing head kicks in the history of mixed-martial arts happened.

It almost seems like something pulled out from a Chinese kung-fu movie. Anthony Pettis jumps off the cage and kicks Ben Henderson in the face while in mid-air. It was plain sick!

GIF:

YouTube video with various angles and slow-mo:

Pettis defeated Henderson via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 48-47) to become the new WEC Lightweight Champion.

=======================================================

Check out the other head kicks from Anthony Pettis’ career:

vs Shane Roller at WEC 50 (August 18, 2010)

vs Danny Castillo at WEC 47 (March 6, 2010) – Knockout of the Night - visit 3:15 mark

vs Mike Lambrecht at GFS: Knockout Kings (March 29, 2008) – visit 4:30 mark

Please read my related posts:

1. WEC 53 | Anthony Pettis Wins WEC/UFC Title Unification Bout Contendership On December 16, 2010, Ben “Smooth” Henderson defends his WEC Lightweight title against Anthony “Showtime” Pettis. The two will headline the main event of WEC 53: Henderson vs Pettis to be held at Jobing.com Arena in the Phoenix suburb of...
2. WEC 53: Henderson vs Pettis REPLAY WEC 53: Henderson vs Pettis was held on December 16, 2010, at Jobing.com Arena in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona, USA. If you failed to watch it LIVE, fret not as you can check out the WEC 53 replay...
3. WEC 53: Henderson vs Pettis, The Farewell Event WEC 53 promises to be a can’t miss event as it features two championship fights in one night. On December 16, 2010, at Jobing.com Arena in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona, USA, WEC  Lightweight Champion Ben  “Smooth” Henderson and...
4. TUF 13 Finale | Clay Guida vs Anthony Pettis MATCHUP: Clay “The Carpenter” Guida vs Anthony “Showtime” Pettis EVENT: The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos Finale DATE: June 04, 2011 VENUE: Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA FIGHT DETAILS: Anthony Pettis makes his UFC...
5. WEC 48 | First Pay-Per-View Event in WEC History The first pay-per-view fight card in World Extreme Cagefighting history will happen at WEC 48 on April 24, 2010. After being purchased by Zuffa in 2006 to become the sister promotion to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), WEC aired its...
6. WEC 48 | Gamburyan Delivers Upset to Brown Mike Brown lost his WEC featherweight championship against Jose Aldo at WEC 44. At WEC 46, he started his comeback trail by defeating Anthony “Mean Machine” Morrison via submission. In the undercard of WEC 48, Brown is continuing his journey...
7. WEC 53 | Dominick Cruz Dominates Scott “Young Guns” Jorgensen After having already beaten twice top contender Joseph Benavidez twice, at WEC 42 and WEC 50, WEC Bantamweight Champion Dominick “Dominator” Cruz looks unbeatable now. At the co-main event of WEC 53 on December 16, 2010, Scott “Young Guns” Jorgensen...
8. WEC 46 | Henderson Becomes Undisputed Lightweight Champion This January 10, 2010 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California, USA in the main event of WEC 46: Varner vs Henderson; Jamie “Showtime” Varner and Ben “Smooth” Henderson will unify the WEC Lightweight Championship and set once and for...
9. WEC 48 Fight Card Results With its most explosive fight card yet, WEC 48 offers intriguing questions which beg to be answered. Can the California Kid regain the WEC Featherweight title? In a rematch, who will prevail between “Smooth” Henderson and “Cowboy” Cerrone? Can Mike...
10. WEC 46 | Henderson Unifies Lightweight Championship Jamie “Showtime” Varner is the current World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion. But Varner’s subsequent inability to perform since his title defense against Donald Cerrone at UFC 38 (despite Cerrone’s ability to do the contrary) has led the WEC to set...

If you want to receive my latest posts, please subscribe to my full feed RSS or have them delivered through email. Just enter your email address below and hit the Subscribe button.

Tags: anthony pettis, ben henderson, WEC 53