Saturday night in Jacksonville, the Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first major American sports organization to get back on track as they took to VyStar Veterans Arena to host UFC 249. Despite it being the promotions first pay-per-view card with no live gate, according to reports the card, headlined by Gaethje and Furguson netted White and company netted over 700,000 PPV buys through ESPN+, which is great for the company for a card that did not feature one Conor McGregor.
The main event delivered on Dana White’s guarantee of violence as Justin Gaethje emerged as the Interim Lightweight Champ, ending the 12 fight win streak of Tony Furguson. Gaethje’s power became to much for Furugson to handle, and more importantly Justin Gaethje was able to remain his composure and did not rush his eventual finish. The man they call ‘The Highlight’ showed that he is up there amongst the heaviest hands in the division.
As for Ferguson, despite coming out of the fight with an L, Ferguson did a great job of showing the world he is not human. The loss was relatively lopsided for Ferguson, however the ability to keep trying to walk through the power of Gaethje time and time again is something that not many can do.
As for co-main event, we saw what looked to be ‘Triple C’ Henry Cejudo’s last fight as he put away Dominick Cruz in the last seconds of the second to retain his Bantamweight strap. I do not know what was more surprising, the sudden retirement of the 33 year old Olympic Champ, or the reaction that came about by title challenger Dominick Cruz. Cruz, who protested the stoppage by referee Keith Peterson claimed that the official appeared drunk and smelled of cigarettes. The UFC has not yet spoken on his allegations, but one thing is for sure is that Cruz did not take this loss as gracefully as he did when Cody Garbrandt danced circles around him at UFC 207. Cruz’s allegations, wether true or false, put a damper on both the amazing event and the reputation of the sport as a whole, which has been in question constantly throughout the years, even up to the decision to be the first major sport back on American soil.
Despite the theatrics put on by the one time Bantamweight King, the card went off relatively smoothly. The promotion was able to power through Souza’s positive COVID-19 test and put on a great night of fights for those at home.
Guys such as Ngannou, and Kattar gained momentum by taking part in the event. Ngannou starched then undefeated Jairzinho Rosenstruik in just 20 seconds, while Calvin Kattar was able to finish UFC vet Jeremy Stephens with a nasty short elbow. Guys like Gaethje, showed off their devastating power to hungry fight fans, the promotion did an amazing job of making the card seem as usual despite the new reality we now live in. From blacking out the empty seats, to keeping in tact the star studded commentary team, and of course putting together a great night of fights.
The UFC 249 card was decision ridden throughout the prelims, however they did not lack excitement. From Bryce Mitchell’s amazing grappling display in route to victory over Charles Rosa, to Price and Luque’s sharp striking sequences, to former WEC greats Cerrone and Pettis turning back the clocks, the fighters did not miss a beat as the prelims went live on ESPN. The promotion had a big night this past Saturday, and as they look forward to UFC on ESPN+29 this Wednesday along with UFC on ESPN 8 on Saturday.
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