UFC 249 results: Justin Gaethje stuns Tony Ferguson, Henry Cejudo retires, undercard reaction
Gaethje stopped Ferguson in the fifth to set up a title shot against Khabib Nurmagomedov
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Justin Gaethje put on a striking masterclass to score a surprise knockout victory over Tony Ferguson and win the interim lightweight title at UFC 249, which took place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday.
Ferguson, who came into the fight on a 12-win streak, suffered damage as Gaethje chopped at his legs and landed thunderous hooks before referee Herb Dean stepped in to end the fight late in the fifth round.
With over 80,000 deaths in the United States due to COVID-19, the UFC has come under fire for putting on the event, which took place with no fans in the stands and with stringent health and safety protocols in place.
Despite the absence of a crowd, the fights themselves lacked nothing in intensity, with Francis Ngannou scoring the knockout of the night, blitzing Jairzinho Rozenstruik with a left hook to force a stoppage after just 20 seconds of the first round.
Sam Alvey was the first fighter into the empty arena on the night, pointing and high-fiving the imaginary crowd as he made his way to the cage where he fell to a decision loss to Ryan Spann in the evening's opening fight on the prelim card.
Apart from the fighters, the referees and the commentators, event staff wore face masks and only one corner-man per fighter was allowed into the cage in the breaks between rounds.
"It was funny, I could hear a lot. Everybody out there I could hear really clearly, but at the same time ... it wasn't much different than if the crowd were there," Vicente Luque told reporters following his stoppage win over Niko Price.
Such was the silence that Luque was able to hear the commentators, and heavyweight Greg Hardy said he was able to take the advice of TV commentator Daniel Cormier to counter Yorgan De Castro's leg kicks en route to a decision victory.
In the co-main event, Henry Cejudo retained his bantamweight belt with a second-round stoppage win over Dominick Cruz before immediately retiring in the octagon. The 33-year-old, who won a gold medal for wrestling at the 2008 Olympics, has said he was happy with his career and that he wanted to start a family.
Returning after a long layoff, former champ Cruz was dropped with a knee to the head and suffered the first knockout of his career with just two seconds left in the second round.
However, the biggest prize of the night went to Gaethje, who is now next in line to face Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed lightweight crown.
"I'll wait for the real one," Gaethje said as he tossed the interim belt aside moments after it was put around his waist. Reuters
Relive all of the live action below:
Next UFC event: UFC Fight Night Smith vs Teixeira on Wednesday 13 May.
Ferguson darts in and is caught by a counter. Gaethje then lands a solid combination. Ferguson has four minutes to pull something out of the back but he is limping and looking increasingly short of ideas...
Gaethje lands a vicious one-two. Ferguson staggers backwards. Gaethje doesn't chase him, though. He's content to carry on picking him off. This is a demolition.
A sad end to the fight. Gaethje lands a jab and it's simply too much for Ferguson to take. He shakes his head and staggers backwards but, finally, Herb Dean has seen enough. He stops the fight. Ferguson loses on his feet.
Some drama: Gaethje goes to hug Ferguson. Ferguson pushes him away. "Being an a**hole gets you nowhere," he says. Meow!
Gaethje: "I knew I was a killer stepping in here. I'm good. I've worked for this. I never look past one day and you have to be better than yesterday.
"I have a world class coach. I had to lose to change. Once I understood what was wrong, I realised I was having too much fun. I'm happy to represent the United States against Russia. And there is no other challenge I want. I want to fight Khabib.
"I feel bad for [Ferguson]. Because I come in here to die. You have to have that mentality."
Ferguson: "It's been a long camp. We've been preparing since November. The weight cut had nothing to do with it. But I prepared for Khabib, not a striker.
"I would have been preferred to have been finished. And not stopped on my feet.
"Props to Justin. Thank you for taking the fight."
A recap of this evening's results:
- Justin Gaethje def. Tony Ferguson, TKO (punches, R5)
- Henry Cejudo def. Dominick Cruz, TKO (knee and punches, R2)
- Francis Ngannou def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik, KO (punches, R1)
- Calvin Kattar def. Jeremy Stephens, TKO (elbows and punches, R2)
- Greg Hardy def. Yorgan de Castro, Decision (unanimous, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments