UFC 249 finally took place last night after the circus of speculation that has taken place over the last month, multiple event cancellations and fighters understandably pulling out of their scheduled fights left UFC 249 looking like a Frankenstein’s monster of a fight card; and in a way, that’s exactly what we got.
The effect of an empty arena:
UFC fans are amongst the most passionate in all of sports, so when the plans were laid out by UFC President Dana White to continue running main UFC cards, without any fans in attendance, many were worried that the lack of fans would take away from the atmosphere. While some may say these fears were confirmed as some of last night’s knockouts would have likely left a capacity crowd in Jacksonville in a frenzy, the lack of noise in the stadium left the fights with an almost gladiatorial feel to them, especially with the sickening thuds that echoed from Calvin Kattar’s elbow KO of Jeremy Stevens and the overhand left delivered to the eye of Niko Price from Vicente Luque that led to a doctor’s stoppage.
Another more comical side effect of the lack of crowd noise was the unexpected influence that Daniel Cormier had on the evening. Of course, ‘DC’ is known as one of the greatest of all time but with his career winding down, Cormier has transitioned in recent years to one of the sport’s most insightful analysts. Cormier was on commentary last night alongside Joe Rogan and following their respective decision victories, Heavyweight Greg Hardy and Women’s Strawweight fighter Carla Esparza noted that they heard Cormier’s analysis on commentary and adjusted their game plans to what the former two-weight world champ was suggesting.
‘The Predator’ wastes no time:
The Heavyweight clash between former title challenger Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik was one of the most hotly anticipated fights on the entire card as a knockout seemed inevitable in fans’ minds as soon as the fight was announced.
Thankfully for UFC fans, but not for Rozenstruik, they would not be disappointed as Ngannou immediately backed the fighter from Suriname up against the cage and landed a stiff left hook in the midst of a wild exchange to put the previously undefeated Rozenstruik down inside the first 20 seconds of the contest.
The finish would be Ngannou’s fourth consecutive first round knockout and in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, the Cameroonian expressed his frustrations at the current state of the UFC’s Heavyweight title picture as the plans still seem to point to the trilogy fight between champion Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier, but with Miocic hesitant to return to action following an injury and the current circumstances, Ngannou revealed that he asked the UFC to turn last night’s fight with Rozenstruik into a contest for an interim championship, but the UFC refused.
Cejudo vs Cruz marred by distractions:
When it was announced that arguably the greatest Bantamweight of all time, Dominick Cruz, would be returning from an over three-year layoff to take on the unpopular current champion of the division, Henry Cejudo, fan excitement was palpable, Cruz is regarded as one of the most beloved fighters in UFC history due to his struggles with injuries and his ability to bounce back and his many honest and introspective post-fight speeches at conferences.
Unfortunately for fans that were hoping to see Cruz recreate the same magic that led him to a victory over T.J Dillashaw in 2016 under similar circumstances, Cejudo would put ‘The Dominator’ on the ground with a knee in the second round. This finish was not without its controversy as many, including Cruz in his post-fight interview felt that the referee’s stoppage was premature as although Cejudo was unleashing a flurry of ground-and-pound strikes to Cruz following the knockdown, Cruz was still actively defending himself and even looked to be getting back to his feet as the referee moved in to wave the fight off; combined with the fact that the official stoppage took place with two seconds left in the round, to many, it seems as if Cruz deserved to be saved by the bell and receive a chance to execute a comeback in the third round and beyond.
Even more frustrating to any fans rooting for Cruz to be at the top of the division once again, Cejudo announced his immediate retirement in his post-fight interview, eliminating the chance for a rematch between the two to settle the disputed stoppage.
Despite this, Cejudo’s career resume is incredibly impressive, with championships in two weight classes and victories over names such as Demetrious Johnson, T.J Dillashaw and now Cruz, Cejudo will likely be inducted into the UFC’s Hall of Fame in the coming years. In my opinion, I feel like Cejudo had a chance to cement himself as one of the UFC’s greatest ever champions had he stayed a little longer and delivered on the long rumoured fights between Aljamain Sterling, Petr Yan and the fight with Jose Aldo, that was the original fight planned for UFC 249 before Aldo pulled out due to travel restrictions and Dominick stepped in.
Speaking of the UFC Hall of Fame, it was also announced that Georges St-Pierre will be inducted in 2020, a well-deserved induction as ‘GSP’ is widely regarded as the greatest Welterweight of all time.
Gaethje runs through Tony to interim gold:
Many fans will probably be upset with the result of this matchup for many reasons, the first being that it casts even more doubt on the fabled Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson fight ever coming to fruition, as that was supposed to be the main event of this card before the original event was cancelled last month. Some will also cry out and blame another bad stoppage, but I don’t see the argument in this case, Justin Gaethje looked comfortable throughout the fight and was the more accurate and powerful in the exchanges on the feet, there was little chance for ‘El Cucuy’ to comeback in the final round save for a Hail Mary knockout in the last minute of the fight, which with Tony wobbled and not staggering Gaethje much throughout the fight, the result was a forgone conclusion.
The unfortunate thing about these circumstances for Tony Ferguson is just how unnecessary all of this was. You will never be able to argue against Ferguson’s drive to prove himself against the best the division has to offer, but if he never gets the opportunity to be crowned the undisputed champion of the Lightweight division, especially if the Khabib fight never materialises, there will be a vocal section of the UFC fanbase that will lament Tony’s choice not to sit out and wait for Khabib to be able to travel back to the U.S to deliver on the long-overdue matchup. Ferguson came into this fight with everything to lose and now at 36-years-old, he might have.
What’s next?
To anyone that may be disappointed with Gaethje being the next contender to Khabib’s Lightweight title, I will remind you that in MMA, styles make fights and this matchup between Justin and Khabib will likely pair the best grappler the promotion has ever seen against a gritty fighter who just proved that they can stand and trade with the best the division has to offer. If Gaethje can defend Khabib’s takedowns and keep the fight standing, he could pose serious problems for the 28-0 champion.
In the Bantamweight division, with Cejudo retired, the belt will be vacated and it seems that the most logical matchup to determine a new champion would be to pair up the aforementioned Sterling and Yan with the winner potentially fighting Cruz, if the veteran looks to continue.
The main event for UFC 250 also looks to be set as it was announced that Amanda Nunes would finally make her first defence of the Women’s Bantamweight title against contender Megan Anderson.
Full fight card results:
Main Card
Lightweight – Justin Gaethje def. Tony Ferguson via TKO (Round 5 – 3:39)
Bantamweight – Henry Cejudo (c) def. Dominick Cruz via TKO (Round 2 – 4:58)
Heavyweight – Francis Ngannou def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik via KO (Round 1 – 0:20)
Catchweight – Calvin Kattar def. Jeremy Stevens via TKO (Round 2 – 2:42)
Heavyweight – Greg Hardy def. Yorgan de Castro via Unanimous Decision
Preliminary Card
Welterweight – Anthony Pettis def. Donald Cerrone via Unanimous Decision
Heavyweight – Aleksei Oleinik def. Fabricio Werdum via Split Decision
Women’s Strawweight – Carla Esparza def. Michelle Waterson via Split Decision
Welterweight – Vicente Luque def. Niko Price via TKO/Doctor Stoppage (Round 3 – 3:37)
Early Preliminary Card
Featherweight – Bryce Mitchell def. Charles Rosa via Unanimous Decision
Light Heavyweight – Ryan Spann def. Sam Alvey via Spilt Decision
The Inbound Observer 
The Gaethje result really shocked me. I thought he was going to get mauled! I don’t think he can do anything like that to Khabib though. All’s fair in war though so we shall see! Greetings from London.
LikeLike