A loss wasn’t the only thing Tony Ferguson suffered at UFC 249.
Ferguson hoped to become a two-time interim UFC lightweight champion when he met Justin Gaethje. It wasn’t meant to be as Gaethje closed out UFC 249 with perhaps the best performance of his pro MMA career. Gaethje stopped Ferguson in the fifth round via TKO and is now on his way to a title unification bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Tony Ferguson Suffers Broken Orbital
UFC president Dana White informed Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole that Ferguson suffered a broken orbital in his defeat to Gaethje.
“Per Dana White, Tony Ferguson suffered an orbital fracture in his loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249.”
News of the injury probably won’t come as a surprise to most. Gaethje was finding the target more often than not. Early on, you could see Ferguson’s face battered and bloodied. It only got worse as the fight went on. As UFC color commentator Joe Rogan pointed out, usually it’s Ferguson who dishes out punishment on the face of his opponents.
Time will tell what’s next for Tony Ferguson. During his post-fight interview, “El Cucuy” said he plans on getting back on the horse. He also thanked Gaethje for taking the fight.
Ferguson was initially set to challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov for the main lightweight title on April 18. Those plans went awry when travel issues got in the way due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, Gaethje stepped up on short notice.
Much has been made about Ferguson’s decision to cut weight twice ahead of UFC 249. Ferguson wanted to prove that he was ready for April 18, so he made championship weight a day prior. He ended up having to cut weight again on May 8. Many are questioning whether or not Ferguson’s weight cuts were detrimental to his performance.
