Tony Ferguson Stops Anthony Pettis in Bloody War in UFC 229 Co-Main Event
Tony Ferguson is back and based on his performance at UFC 229, it’s like he never skipped a beat.
The former interim lightweight champion stepped into the Octagon with a chip on his shoulder after having his title stripped back in April when he suffered a knee injury that prevented him from facing Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Six months later, Ferguson returned with a huge TKO win against Anthony Pettis in an absolutely bloody war in the co-main event from Las Vegas.
Following major reconstructive surgery six months ago, Ferguson looked like as good as ever while walking Pettis down as soon as the first round began.
Ferguson was constantly moving forward using his lead jab and front kicks to keep Pettis inside his range and never giving the former lightweight champion room to breathe.
Pettis came back with a couple stiff leg kicks that definitely had Ferguson switching stances to avoid taking any more damage. Towards the end of the round, Ferguson uncorked a wild Superman punch off the cage that clipped Pettis and had him rattled for a moment before the horn sounded.
Strong close to the first round by The Boogeyman!@TonyFergusonXT #UFC229 pic.twitter.com/rJyZJASM6E
— UFC (@ufc) October 7, 2018
Ferguson was brimming with confidence when the second round started but Pettis took care of that in quick order after landing a thunderous right hand that put his opponent down on the canvas. Pettis followed up with another massive right hand that bloodied Ferguson and had him in serious trouble.
Pettis attempted to get the finish but Ferguson did a masterful job of holding on until he could regain his composure.
OHHHHHH HUGE shot from Pettis hurts Ferguson!!!#UFC229 @ShowtimePettis pic.twitter.com/qcL4A5SxY7
— UFC (@ufc) October 7, 2018
After a quick pause to check a cut that was opened on Pettis’ hairline, Ferguson took advantage of the time to recover and came out like a ball of fire on the restart.
In an amazing turn of events, Ferguson started pouring on the punishment with a relentless offensive onslaught that had Pettis bloodied and backing up. With less than a minute to go in the round, Ferguson was picking his shots and just battering Pettis with punches.
As the fighters went to their corners, Pettis’ head coach Duke Roufus asked his fighter if he wanted to continue as the cutman cleaned copious amounts of blood from his head and face. Pettis told his coach that his hand was broken and Roufus decided to tell the referee that the fight was over.
It was an awe inspiring show of heart and will as Ferguson returns to the cage with a TKO victory. Afterwards, a fired up Ferguson was quick to call for his next fight against UFC 229 headliner Conor McGregor.
“Where’s McNuggets at you fucking piece of shit!” Ferguson said. “I’m gonna kick your ass. If f–king Khabib [Nurmagomedov] don’t do it, I will. You son of a bitch, I’ll give you a proper ass whooping any day.
“I’m f–king back”
Considering Ferguson went through knee surgery back in April and then returned in miraculous time to get a win the way he did on Saturday night was the stuff of legends.
Now Ferguson will anxiously await the main event between Nurmagomedov and McGregor with hopes of facing the winner in the near future.
