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As it happenedended

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

Luke Brown
Sunday 10 May 2020 06:30 BST
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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.

There was a surprise result in the main event of the evening
There was a surprise result in the main event of the evening (Getty)

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.

Cejudo appeared to retire from the sport after his win
Cejudo appeared to retire from the sport after his win (Getty)

"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.

Seconds out. Round three.

Vithushan Ehantharajah10 May 2020 03:36

That's more like it! Both men rush out and Hardy lands a stiff left hand. That appears to wake De Castro up, who begins swinging. He doesn't land anything significant, but he does get back to kicking and lands another blow on that mangled Hardy lead leg.

Vithushan Ehantharajah10 May 2020 03:37

De Castro slips. Hardy stands and punches him in the right leg a few times, which could see him edge ahead on the scorecards. He throws in some kicks for good measure with De Castro stranded on his back. 

Hardy eventually walks away and lets him up. 

Vithushan Ehantharajah10 May 2020 03:39

What a boring fight. De Castro started aggressively but let up pretty quickly. I think Hardy has nicked this.

Vithushan Ehantharajah10 May 2020 03:41

The fight ends and De Castro immediately signals that he has broken his right foot. It must have been that leg kick in the second round which fell short.

Vithushan Ehantharajah10 May 2020 03:41

30-27 Hardy

30-27 Hardy

30-27 Hardy

Vithushan Ehantharajah10 May 2020 03:42

Greg Hardy wins by unanimous decision.

Vithushan Ehantharajah10 May 2020 03:42

Blimey. These judges are terrible. Doesn't bode well!

Vithushan Ehantharajah10 May 2020 03:43

Coming up next is a featherweight bout between veteran Jeremy Stephens and No. 9 ranked Calvin Kattar.

Vithushan Ehantharajah10 May 2020 03:44

Stephens has lost three of his last four fights, with the other a no contest. And yet he's still seventh in the featherweight rankings!

Vithushan Ehantharajah10 May 2020 03:55

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