Justin Gaethje bloodied and battered top-ranked Tony Ferguson, and gained a 5th round stoppage to win the UFC Interim Lightweight title in front of an empty VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
Gaethje could not miss with power shots and his work started to show as early the 1st round as Ferguson has a bump on his forehead. His face started to swell up in the next round. Gaethje continued to land booming shots that continued to mark up Ferguson’s face. Ferguson had one brief moment in the fight when he landed a perfect uppercut that sent Gaethje down at the bell.
That was basically it for Ferguson as Gaethje continued to land booming shots that would have put lesser men down and out several times over. Ferguson hung in there to take a continuous beating.
In round five, with his face a bloody and swollen mess, Ferguson started having trouble standing due to Gaethje’s leg kicks. Gaethje landed one more hard combination that made Ferguson limp to the cage, and that forced referee Herb Dean stop the bout at 3:39.
Gaethje did not accept the Interim belt when UFC President Dana tried to put the hardware around his waist. Gaethje stated, “I am waiting for the real one.” That was a reference to a potential showdown with champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Gaethje, 155 lbs of Denver is 22-2. Ferguson, 155 lbs of Orange County, CA is 26-4
Henry Cejedo retained the UFC Bantamweight title with a 2nd round stoppage over former champion Dominick Cruz.
Cejudo featured a plethora of leg kicks in he opening frame. In round two, Cejudo was cut on his forehead from an accidental headbutt. Seconds later, Cejudo caught Cruz with a huge knee that sent Cruz to the canvas. Cejudo jumped on Cruz and landed about seven punches and the fight was stopped at 4:58.
Cejudo, 135 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is 16-2. Cruz, 135 lbs of San Diego is now 22-3.
CEJUDO ANNOUNCED HIS RETIREMENT AFTER THE FIGHT
Francis Ngannou annihilated Jairzhino Rozenstruik in just 20 seconds of the heavyweoght bout.
Ngannou landed a wild left hook that sent Rozenstruik plummeting on the cage and the fight was stopped while Ngannou was attempting to land land more punches on a prone Rozenstruik.
Ngannou, 261.5 lbs of Paris, FRA is 15-3. Rozenstruik, 261 lbs of Suriname is 10-1.
Calvin Kattar stopped Jeremy Stevens in the 2nd round of their featherweight bout.
After Stevens had a good 1st round, Kattar landed a vicious right that sent Stevens to the canvas. Kattar jumped on Stevens and the fight was halted after two ground strikes at 2:42
Kattar, 146 lbs of Methuen, MA is 21-4. Stevens, who was 4.5 pounds over the 146 pound weight limit, is now 28-18-1.
Former NFL star Greg Hardy won a unanimous decision over Yorgan De Castro in a heavyweight bout.
Hardy, 265.5 lbs of Coconut Creek, FL won by scores of 30-27 on all cards, ans is now 6-2. De Castro, 262 lbs of Fall River, MA is 6-1.
Anthony Pettis made it two straight against Donald Cerrone as he won a unanimous decision in a welterweight bout.
Pettis, 170 1/2 lbs of Milwaukee, WI won by scores of 30-27 on all cards and is now 23-10, Cerrone, 171 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is 36-15-1.
Aleksei Oleinik won a split decision over former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum
Oleinik almost had Werdum out in the first round with punches. Werdum got the fight to the ground in the 2nd and 3rd frames, but Oleinik won by scores of 29-28 twice while Werdum took a card 29-28.
Oleinik, 227.5 lbs of Moscow, RUS is 59-13-1. Werdum, 243 lbs of Los Angeles is 23-9.
Carla Esparza won a split-decision over Michelle Waterson in a flyweight bout.
Esparza, 115.5 lbs of Irvine, CA won by scores of 30-27 and 29-28. Waterson took a card 30-27.
Esparza is now 17-6. Waterson, 115 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is 17-8.
Vicente Luque stopped Niko Price in the 3rd round of their welterweight bout.
Price was cut under his right eye in round two. The fight was a war that saw Luque drop Price hard left hook. With blood streaming down the right side of Price’s face, the bout was stopped by the doctor at 3:37.
Luque is 18-7-1. Price is 17-4.
Bryce Mitchell dominated Charles Rosa and won a unanimous decision in a featherweight contest.
Mitchell had Rosa on his back basically the whole fight and almost converted submissions on three different occasions.
Mitchell, 145 lbs of Searcy, AK won by scores of 30-25 twice and 30-24 to raise his mark to 13-1. Rosa, 146 lbs of Boca Raton, FL is 12-4.
Ryan Spann won a unanimous decision over Sam Alvey in a light heavyweight contest.
Spann, 206 lbs of Beaumont, Texas won all three cards by 29-28 scores and is now 18-5. Alevey, 205 lbs of Temecula, CA is 33-14-1.
