UFC 249 Recap and Future Predictions

The Results

• Greg Hardy defeated Yorgan de Castro via Unanimous Decision
• Calvin Kattar defeated Jeremy Stephens via TKO
• Francis Ngannou defeated Jairzinho Rozenstruik via KO
• Henry Cejudo defeated Dominick Cruz via TKO
• Justin Gaethje defeated Tony Furguson via TKO

Greg Hardy mounts a comeback to defeat Yorgan de Castro

Greg Hardy continues to grow as a fighter and he showed that when he defeated Yordan de Castro via Unanimous Decision with a score of 30-27 across all three judges. In turn Hardy ended de Castros unbeaten streak and extended his record to 6-2-1. Hardy is an interesting case for me because he doesn’t show small improvements across fights but he shows massive improvements between fights. So what’s next for the heavyweight?

• Greg Hardy
  • Jairzinho Rozenstruik
• Yordan de Castro
  • Fabricio Werdum

Calvin Kattar defeated Jeremy Stephens via vicious elbow TKO

Calvin Kattar put on a show against the veteran Jeremy Stephens. Throughout the fight, it was clearly a striking only match. Kattar put him away in the middle of the 2nd round with a vicious elbow followed by ground and pound to finish. What’s next for Kattar and Stephens?

• Calvin Kattar
  • José Aldo
• Jeremy Stephens
  • He’s on a 4 fight losing skid and it’s hard to place him against top contenders

Francis Ngannou puts Jairzinho Rozenstruik via lightening-fast KO

Whenever Francis Ngannou is in the octagon you know someone is getting knocked out in a matter of seconds. In conclusion, that is exactly what happened on the night of UFC 249. It only took Francis Ngannou 20 seconds to put away Jairzinho Rozenstruik and end his unbeaten streak. In turn, Ngannou extended his win streak to 4. What’s next for the heavyweights?

• Francis Ngannou
  • A shot at the title
• Jairzinho Rozenstruik
  • Greg Hardy

Henry Cejudo shuts down Dominick Cruz

Henry ‘Triple C’ Cejudo showed why he was ‘Triple C’ after he put away the returning former bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz. After an accidental headbutt that opened Cejudo’s forehead. Cejudo quickly got to work and finished Cruz late in the second round. In conclusion this added to Cruz’s losing streak to 2 while extending Cejudo’s winning streak to 6. Henry Cejudo then announced he would be retiring and vacating the bantamweight belt.

• Henry Cejudo
  • Retired
• Dominick Cruz
  • TJ Dillashaw Part Two

Justin Gaethje shocks the world and claims UFC Gold

Continuing onto the main event, Justin Gaethje put on a show unlike any other. Instead of throwing caution into the wind he fought with a plan and fought patiently getting rocked a small handful of times. Gaethje stayed calm and collected against the frantic Tony Ferguson dominating him from bell to bell. This was unfamiliar territory to both fighters and fans alike, We have seen Ferguson in trouble but not like this. This loss marks Ferguson’s first TKO/KO loss and his first loss in 8 years, Ending his 12 win streak. Justing Gaethje not only extended his win streak to 4 but also has a guaranteed spot to face the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight championship. Will we see Khabib be put in dangerous waters? What’s next for Tony Ferguson?

• Justin Gaethje
  • Khabib Nurmagomedov
• Tony Ferguson
  • Conor McGregor/Charles Oliveira

Next Week!

The UFC will be back in the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on May 13th. It is headlined by Anthony Smith facing off against Glover Teixeira. Alongside them are Ben Rothwell and Ovince St. Preux making his Heavyweight debut.

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