UFC 249 Results: Matches for the Winners of the Main Card “Ferguson vs Gaethje”

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to action last night (Saturday, May 9, 2020) when UFC 249 fell from inside the Vystar Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. It was the promotion’s first event in two months, delivering on all fronts with one action-packed fight after another. In the headlining act, Justin Gaethje defeated Tony Ferguson via TKO in the fifth round to win the interim lightweight title (see him again here). In the co-main event, Henry Cejudo stopped former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz to retain his 135-pound belt with just two seconds left in the second round (summary).

Winner: Justin Gaethje
Who should you fight next: Khabib Nurmagomedov

While we may have lost Ferguson vs Khabib once and for all the night before, we can at least expect another exciting lightweight title fight as Gaethje will face “The Eagle” later this year in a title unification fight. Yes, it’s a fight everyone wants to see, but we didn’t want to do it at the cost of losing Ferguson to Khabib after five previous failed attempts. But those were the dice UFC was willing to roll just to get back early. And we may not have to wait too long for Khabib vs. Gaethje, since we could get it as early as August. Last night’s fight was delivered on all fronts, and Khabib vs. Gaethje could do the same.

After knocking out Dominick Cruz, Cejudo announced his abrupt retirement from MMA at the age of 33, all while he was at the top of the game. As a result, UFC President Dana White stated during the post-fight press conference (video playback here) that Petr Yan and an opponent to be named later would do so. fight for the vacant 135-pound leash as soon as possible. And that got me thinking a bit: If Cejudo was running for a bigger raise, a sentiment that many share, perhaps White called his bluff by wanting to stage a title fight as soon as possible. Could be?

Winner: Francis Ngannou
Who Should I Fight Next: Shooting Title

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Ngannou is a scary, scary man. “The Predator” once again demonstrated its dominance after starching Jairzinho Rozenstruick in just 20 seconds (summary). For those keeping score, Ngannou’s last eight wins in the UFC came through the first-round stoppage, seven of them by (technical) knockout. His last four wins have ended in 45, 25, 71 and 20 seconds, respectively. That’s more than enough to earn the belt another chance. The problem is that now he will have to sit back and wait once more as Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic have yet to find a date to keep their trilogy fight going. After that, things could get a little complicated. If “DC” wins, he plans to withdraw, leaving the title vacant. That means Ngannou will have to see who the UFC considers a worthy contender to face him for the title. If Stipe wins, there’s no telling how long Ngannou will have to wait for that rematch, depending on what kind of damage, if any, Miocic holds up against Cormier.

Emmett lined up to face Edson Barboza last week in what was supposed to be UFC Fight Night 174, but after that event was canceled, that match was scrapped. Personally, I’d rather see Emmett and Kattar, two 145-pound natural pounds, who will face each other next. Emmett occupies a place in the highest ranking (No. 8) about Kattar (No. 9), so it makes sense in that regard. Also, trying to convince a higher ranking fighter to take on Kattar would be a task in itself, as they would obviously all want a higher ranking opponent. Kattar looked great in her knockout victory over Jeremy Stephens, and if she can get a victory over a powerhouse like Emmett, it could do wonders for her career in the future.

Hardy returned to the victory column last night after defeating Yorgan de Castro by unanimous decision to score his third victory under the UFC banner. Still, some think the jury is still against Hardy, as you have a feeling you haven’t seen enough of him to notice a drastic improvement in his overall game from his previous match. And that’s not necessarily a blow to Hardy, I’m sure he’s working hard in the lab to improve every day. Are you ready to jump into a title fight? No, it is not, and the good thing is that it recognizes it and is ready to eliminate as many enemies as necessary to get to the big dance. The next step for him should be a good one in the form of Tybura. With 10 fights inside the octagon, Marcin has the experience to give Hardy some tweaks. While he’s only 1-2 in the last three bouts, Tybura is a good candidate for the former NFL star. He has elimination power and good submission skills to take care of business on the ground. And a victory over Tybura would be a good notch on Hardy’s belt.

For full UFC 249 results and coverage, click here.