Photo | Justin Gaethje was well ahead on the scorecards in fight with Tony Ferguson

Justin Gaethje took home the UFC interim lightweight title last night in Florida after earning a TKO victory over Tony Ferguson in the UFC 249 main event.

Gaethje was able to get the better of Ferguson in the striking department for the majority of the opening four rounds. By the time ‘El Cucuy’ stood up for the start of round five, he was wearing multiple facial cuts and had bad swelling around his right eye. ‘The Highlight’ continued his striking assault in the fifth and final round which eventually prompted the referee to step in and call a stop to the contest.

Tony Ferguson was not happy about the referees decision to step in and call a stop to his fight with Justin Gaethje. ‘El Cucuy’ stated his frustrations to Joe Rogan during his post-fight interview.

”Justin Gaethje is a tough son of a bitch. I’ll be real. I prepared for Khabib, not so much of a striker, but sh*t happens man what can you do? I would have much rather got finished than have somebody stepping in.”

However, it would have made no difference from a decision standpoint had the fight gone to the judges scorecards. As seen below from MMAFighting’s Damon Martin, all three judges had Justin Gaethje well ahead on their respective scorecards.

https://twitter.com/DamonMartin/status/1259361991128424462/photo/1

With the victory, Justin Gaethje improved his current win streak to four in a row, with all four of those victories coming by way of stoppage.

Prior to defeating Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 for the interim title, Gaethje had scored three first-round knockout victories in a row over opponents James Vick, Edson Barboza and Donald Cerrone.

It is expected that Justin Gaethje will challenge undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in a title unification bout later this summer or early in the fall.

Image via @ufc on Instagram

‘The Eagle’ last competed at UFC 242 in September of 2019, where he scored a submission victory over Dustin Poirier to defend his title for the second time.

What do you think of the judges scorecards from last night’s UFC 249 main event between Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson? Share your thoughts in the comments section of this post PENN Nation!

on May 10, 2020