Justin Gaethje is the new UFC Interim Lightweight Champion!
This past weekend, the Arizona native pulled off a tremendous feat by not only beating Tony Ferguson for the Interim Lightweight title, but Gaethje essentially dominated the five-round fight until the bout was stopped via TKO in the last round.
Coming in, Ferguson was on a massive 12-fight winning streak, besting top tier lightweights such as Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, and Rafael dos Anjos. The usually dominant and well-rounded fighter was surprisingly outclassed by Gaethje on Saturday, though the 36-year-old did rock the new UFC Interim Lightweight Champion in the second round.
Still, Ferguson didn’t go down without a fight as the lightweight took devastating punches that would’ve easily taken down most fighters within the 155-pound division. It was confirmed by Dana White that Ferguson suffered a broken orbital bone during the match-up. Many believe that the former UFC Interim Lightweight Champion’s off performance was due to his weight cut, though nothing has been confirmed by the man himself.
Gaethje is now on a four-fight winning steak with Khabib Nurmagomedov as his next opponent. While anything can change, White has stated previously that the fight could take place around October sometime. As always, we’ll keep you updated on the news regarding the Lightweight title fight between the UFC fighters.