Tony Ferguson taken to HOSPITAL after suffering brutal beating and shock fifth-round stoppage against Justin Gaethje at UFC 249
Tony Ferguson has been taken to hospital following his shock defeat against Justin Gaethje at UFC 249, confirmed Dana White.
Ferguson, who was scheduled to face Khabib Nurmagomedov at the event before the Russian pulled out due to the coronavirus pandemic, had not lost since 2012.
But in front of an empty arena in Jacksonville, Florida, Gaethje delivered the performance of his career and dominated from start to finish, before the referee stepped in to stop Ferguson taking any further unnecessary damage in the fifth round – Ferguson was subsequently taken to hospital.
Tony Ferguson’s face was covered in blood during the latter stages of his shock defeat
Ferguson was on the receiving end of a brutal beating from Justin Gaethje at UFC 249
As a result, it looks like Gaethje has set up a bout with Khabib, who congratulated the victor on Twitter afterwards, saying: ‘It was so impressive, congratulations. Very smart fight.’
Ferguson himself was full of praise for Gaethje, though admitted the uncertainty surrounding his opponent at the behind closed doors event made preparation difficult.
‘It was a long camp. The weight cut had nothing to do with it. Justin’s a tough son of a b***h, I’ll be real.
‘I prepared for Khabib; not too much of a striker. But s**t happens, man. What can you do? I would’ve much rather got finished instead of having somebody step in.
Ferguson’s bloodied face told the story after he suffered nasty cuts from huge punches
Gaethje claimed the interim lightweight title and will now face Khabib for the real thing
‘Let’s go back and get it on, you now what I mean? The consolation round you have to win back.
‘Props to Justin, like I said, and his team; tough son of a b***h. Thank you for taking the fight.’
UFC president White added after the fight that he thought Ferguson looked off the pace, saying: ‘I thought Tony Ferguson looked off tonight. He looked slow.’
There was an eerie atmosphere inside the arena in Jacksonville without any fans watching