Justin Gaethje pulled off a surprising win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Fla. on Saturday night and was already looking towards his next fight.
Gaethje won the main event in the fifth round after a stoppage that left Ferguson frustrated.
“The weight cut had nothing to do with it, Justin’s a tough son of a b-tch, I’ll be real,” Ferguson said after the fight. “We prepared for Khabib, not too much of a striker, s–t happens, what can you do? I would have much rather got finished instead of having somebody step in.”
Ferguson was originally set to face Nurmagomedov at UFC 249, but those plans were thrown off by the coronavirus pandemic, which also moved the fight date from April 18 to May 9. That means Ferguson had an extended training camp and less than a month to prepare for Gaethje.
Gaethje took the fight on short notice and went in with the mentality that he was willing to die in the cage.
Gaethje: I feel bad for [Ferguson] because if that was me I'd be f*ckin' pissed because I come in here to die. I told my coaches in the back, "You're not gonna like it but I'm ready to die tonight." That's the mentality you have to come in here with.
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) May 10, 2020
The 31-year-old beat Ferguson to improve to 22-2 and capture the UFC Lightweight Championship. He called out Khabib after his fight, saying he wants the undefeated Russian next.
Khabib offered very little in response.
No comment.
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) May 10, 2020
The defeat was a bad break for Ferguson, but a nice boost for Gaethje, who took advantage of an opportunity. Khabib last fought in September.
