Justin Gaethje on Saturday put on an impressive master class 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.
Ferguson, who came into the fight on a 12-bout 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.
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.
Photo: AP
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, pointing to and high-fiving the imaginary crowd as he made his way to the cage, where he fell to Ryan Spann in a decision loss.
Apart from the fighters, the referees and the commentators, event staff wore face masks and only one cornerman per fighter was allowed into the cage in the breaks between rounds.
“It was funny. Everybody out there, I could hear really clearly, but ... it wasn’t much different than if the crowd was there,” Vicente Luque said after his stoppage win over Niko Price.
Greg Hardy said he could hear so clearly that he took the advice of TV commentator Daniel Cormier to counter Yorgan De Castro’s leg kicks en route to a decision victory.
In the comain event, Henry Cejudo retained his bantamweight belt with a second-round stoppage win over Dominick Cruz before retiring in the octagon.
The 33-year-old, who won a gold medal for wrestling at the 2008 Olympics, has said that he is happy with his career and wants 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.
The biggest prize of the night went to Gaethje, who next faces 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.
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