Tony Ferguson experienced a tough, TKO loss to Justin Gaethje in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 249 card. Despite the nature of this loss, Ferguson seems to be in good spirits.
Just one day after his defeat, he was already dancing around in his hospital room. See it below:
Ferguson was originally expected to challenge UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov back in April, but when Nurmagomedov got stranded in Russia due to travel restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic, Ferguson accepted a short-notice interim title fight with Gaethje on May 9.
While Ferguson showed immeasurable toughness in this fight, he was ultimately stopped in the fifth round. This TKO loss marks the end of a ridiculous, 12-fight win-streak for the former Ultimate Fighter standout. It also derails any hope of seeing Ferguson battle Nurmagomedov, who he’s been scheduled to five fight times previously to no avail, anytime soon.
That being said, Ferguson remains one of the lightweight division’s premier players, with wins over the likes of Anthony Pettis, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Rafael dos Anjos, Kevin Lee and Edson Barboza.
Gaethje, meanwhile, is now the interim lightweight champ, and can look forward to his own fight with the undisputed lightweight king Nurmagomedov, perhaps as soon as this summer. The former World Series of Fighting lightweight champion will enter this UFC title fight on a four-fight win-streak, and with a 22-2 overall record.
What do you think the future holds for Tony Ferguson after his tough loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249? Let us know who you want to see him fight next in the comments section.
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/11/2020.