Tony Ferguson has issued his first statement following his fifth-round technical knockout loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249.
On Saturday, the number one lightweight contender attempted to recapture the interim championship as he headlined the UFC’s fourth pay-per-view event opposite Gaethje in Jacksonville, Florida.
Ferguson was coming off a doctor stoppage win against Donald Cerrone, remaining unscathed in his last 12 UFC bouts to hold the longest and most active win streak at 155 pounds.
The UFC originally booked him against Khabib Nurmagomeodv for the ‘most anticipated fight in the promotion’s history’ but the matchup was shelved for a fifth time as the defending champion was stuck in Russia amid the global pandemic.
Ferguson went into the fight as the heavy favorite and he was confident he will get things done after six months of preparation, which included a 12-hour practice practice per day.
https://twitter.com/espnmma/status/1259347905552551942
Tough Opponent
But things did not end well for ‘El Cucuy’ as he was dominated by Gaethje in five rounds to absorb his first defeat in eight years.
Following the shocking loss, Ferguson said he was stunned by Gaethje’s stand-up game.
Despite the setback, Ferguson is holding his head high as he takes pride on losing to an underdog rather than pulling out of the fight.
“Man it’s been a long f*cking camp, I’ll be real. We’ve been preparing since November. Obviously the 18th didn’t fall through with Khabib. Obviously Justin (Gaethje) was the only one who wanted to sign on the dotted line. Just a long camp and the weigh cut had nothing to do with it,” Ferguson said.
”Justin Gaethje is a tough son of a bitch. I’ll be real. I prepared for Khabib, not so much of a striker, but sh*t happens man what can you do? I would have much rather got finished than have somebody stepping in.”
Justin Gaethje: 19th win by KO/TKO in his MMA career.
Tony Ferguson: 1st loss since May 2012 (UD loss to Michael Johnson). pic.twitter.com/Tn6PzALMYZ
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 10, 2020
Check out the UFC 249 fight card full results below:
Main Card
Justin Gaethje def. Tony Ferguson via fifth-round TKO
Henry Cejudo def. Dominick Cruz via second-round TKO
Francis Ngannou def. Jair Rozenstruik via first-round TKO
Calvin Kattar def. Jeremy Stephens via second-round knockout
Greg Hardy def. Yorgan de Castro via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Undercard
Anthony Pettis def. Donald Cerrone via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Aleksei Oleinik def. Fabricio Werdum via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Carla Esparza def. Michelle Waterson via split decision (30-27, 27-30, 29-28)
Vicente Luque def. Niko Price via third-round TKO (doctor stoppage)
Bryce Mitchell def. Charles Rosa via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-24)
Ryan Spann def. Sam Alvey via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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(Featured Image Source: Twitter/ Bleacher Report and ESPN MMA)