Ferguson's first defeat in eight years, Sehudo's career end and Oleinik's triumph: what UFC 249 remembers

The success of Oleinik and the victory of Pettis

In the current realities, the UFC 249 tournament promised to become one of the most anticipated events, if not the last months, then at least the last weeks. As a result, we can safely say that the show did not disappoint the expectations of the fans and became a real outlet for sports fans during the coronavirus pandemic. Of course, the main event was a duel between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gatji for the right to fight with the current holder in the lightweight title Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The first thing that caught my eye was the unusual atmosphere for the promotion events. If at the middle of March UFC Fight Night 170 in Brazil, the effect of the presence of the audience was created by numerous journalists and other officials, then in Jacksonville it was unusually quiet. Perhaps the reason was a tightening of measures compared to shows in Latin America. In any case, the starting fight between Ryan Spann and Sam Alvey was almost in grave silence, although the athletes themselves tried their best to please the viewers.

For the Russian fans, one of the most anticipated events not only of the preliminary card, but of the tournament as a whole was the duel between Alexei Oleinik and Fabrice Werdum. Two renowned heavyweights were required to determine which of them is the main Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist in the division. A help for a domestic athlete could be a long, easy career in a Brazilian who last went to the octagon in March 2018.

It was expected that athletes would prefer to fight on the ground, however, the first round was held in the rack. To the surprise of many, Oleinik looked utterly stronger than “rusted” due to the long lack of Werdum practice and literally beat the ex-UFC champion. Fabrice tried to answer, but his attempts looked extremely unconvincing. At certain points, it began to seem that Judge Herb Dean was about to decide to intervene and stop the beating, but he only watched. Alexey continued to amaze even during the break when he lay down on the canvas, instead of sitting on a chair.

But by the middle of the second round, Oleinik was noticeably tired and allowed Werdum to align his position. He came to his senses a bit and even managed to carry out a takedown, after which he took a dominant position in the stalls. The world champion in jiu-jitsu tried to reach the strangulation from behind, but the Russian figured out the opponent’s plan.

The decisive segment of the battle initially developed in favor of the Brazilian. He laid Oleinik twice on the ground and almost got the upper hand with the help of a kimura, but the Russian got out of the difficult situation and shocked the ending. This was enough for two of the three judges to stand on his side. Oleinik prevailed and extended the successful series to two bouts.

The preliminary rematch between Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone completed the preliminary card. Athletes already met each other in 2013 and then Anthony took over. This time, the ex-lightweight champion was also considered a favorite, although he fought in an unusual welterweight category. In many ways, this was due to the unsuccessful Cowboy series of three defeats in a row.

Athletes spent all three rounds in the octagon. The cowboy again failed the beginning of the duel, having managed to gain momentum only to the final segment. In the third five-minute period he was much more active than the opponent and was marked by several excellent hits, but this was not enough. The more stable Pettis won the favor of the judges, but his success was somewhat overshadowed by the manifestation of unsportsmanlike behavior. In one of the episodes, Anthony hit Donald with a finger in the eye, but continued to strike. And this despite the fact that Cerrone signaled a prohibited reception.

Ferguson's sensational defeat and Sehudo's retirement

The first contender for the Performance of the Night Award was determined in a fight between Jeremy Stevens and Calvin Cattar. Former opponents of Zabit Magomedsharipov immediately began to justify the title of one of the most uncompromising representatives of the division and already by the end of the round managed to inflict serious damage on each other. Jeremy succeeded a little more, trying to act as the first number and throw shots more often.

The denouement came in the middle of the second five-minute, and Cattar turned out to be more successful. Athletes threw out their arms at the same time, but Kelvin’s elbow hit was stronger. Stevens collapsed to the floor and was no longer able to get up.

The initiative of Cattara was supported by Francis Nganna. He confirmed the status of one of the strongest heavyweights at the moment and in just 19 seconds he dealt with Jairzinho Rosenstrike, who did not know the bitterness of defeats in the UFC.

Francis ran into an opponent and literally knocked him down with a series of sweeping side. Jairzinho flew into the net, received several more powerful blows to the head, after which he could not recover for a long time. Cameroon won the knockout in the championship for the ninth time and came in fourth in its history for this indicator. The trio of Kane Velazquez, Junior Dos Santos and Derrick Lewis lead (all - 10 each).

After that, the time for title fights came, in the first of which the champion of the light weight Henry Sehudo met with the category legend Dominic Cruz. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, nominal nominee Jose Aldo withdrew from the tournament, and Russian Peter Jan was unable to enter the United States. In this regard, Dominik, who had not fought since June 2016, had to replace him.

Throughout his career, Cruise was considered one of the most unorthodox fighters in terms of leg work. His ability to move around the cage repeatedly perplexed his opponents, which could not be ignored in the Sehudo camp. Henry from the first seconds began to shell the applicant’s legs, which quickly slowed him down. It is worth noting that the Dominator himself looked less impetuous, only remotely resembling himself in his best years.

In the second five-minute fight was more equal, and a turning point occurred in the second half of the round. Athletes clashed their heads, as a result of which Sehudo began to bleed heavily. It might seem that this is an ideal moment for Cruise, but after a pause the champion threw himself into the attack. Henry hit his knee in the head of a vis-a-vis and knocked him down, and then rushed to finish. Dominic was in a difficult position, but continued to defend himself, however, referee Kevin Peterson made an extremely controversial decision and stopped the match two seconds before the bell.

However, a real shock to the fans was Sehudo’s statement at the end of the battle. The champion thanked the leadership of the Absolute Fighting Championship and said that this battle was the last in his career.

“I am pleased with my career. I have achieved a lot in sports and I want to leave. I am 33 years old. I have a girlfriend, now she is watching this from home. I want to start a family ... I am ending my career today, ”Sehudo told UFC commentator Joe Rogan.

The main match of the tournament promised to become a real decoration for UFC 249. The owner of one of the two longest win-win series in the history of promotion Tony Ferguson met with the brightest representative of the category Justin Gatzy. If successful, El Kukuy set a division record for the number of victories and not only became the first two-time temporary champion in history, but also guaranteed himself the right to fight with the holder of the absolute title Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Many predicted that due to the shortened preparation, Gatzy would not be able to hold out all five rounds. Therefore, from the first seconds, he began to throw powerful overheads in the hope of sending his opponent to a deep knockout. Earlier, Ferguson repeatedly appeared on the floor, so this did not seem an impossible task. Justin managed to hit several times, but Tony stood firmly on the ground. At the same time, the first number of lightweight acted rather carefully and tried to find weaknesses in the enemy’s defense.

In the second round, Ferguson added and began to move forward more actively, but Gatgee met him every time with counterattacks of incredible strength. Each hit threatened with a deep knockout, but Tony continued to stand. In five minutes, he missed a huge number of strokes and could have repeatedly appeared on the floor, but at the last second he hit the opponent with an uppercut just in the jaw. He almost fell, but was saved by a gong.

The third five-minute left for Gatzy. Ferguson continued to act in the first number and attacked more often, but missed much more serious blows. Already by the middle of the segment, he had opened two sections - under the left eye and on the right eyebrow, the condition of which worsened with every second. However, Tony continued to go forward stubbornly, and in one episode he even managed to knock down an opponent with the help of a light kick.

In the course of the fourth round, Tony was close to being the first to be knocked out in his career. The most powerful right punch hit exactly on the jaw, after which the athlete barely stood on his feet. Justin was too cautious and could not finish, allowing the vis-a-vis to recover. Thus, Ferguson lost at least three segments of four and was forced to go all-in.

But in the final five-minute Gatzy completed the job. At this point, the battle was more and more like a beating, and Ferguson could no longer resist. He was not ready to meet with a fighter of this style and could not pick up the keys to him. By the end of the fight, Tony's injuries became so serious that he could hardly move around the cage. Another biting light kick became fatal and forced Herb Dean to stop the fight.

Gatgie scored a fourth early victory in a row and won the interim UFC lightweight title, interrupting Ferguson's unbeaten run. As for Tony, for him this defeat was the first since May 5, 2012. Then he lost to Michael Johnson.