If and when Conor McGregor decides to return to defend his UFC lightweight championship, Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson will be awaiting his return. The 33-year-old won the interim UFC lightweight title over Kevin Lee via third-round submission in the main event of UFC 216 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Bleacher Report MMA provided the official time of the stoppage:
The potential for a shootout was evident early as both fighters landed clean punches in the opening minutes. Each scored a knockdown and experienced a taste of their opponent’s power:
From there, the first round went to the mat where Lee showed he had the advantage. The younger Lee, 25, worked his way to mount and ended the round by throwing heavy strikes. Patrick Wyman of the the Washington Post gave Lee credit for his ground game while giving him the first round:
The big end to the frame may have been a detriment to Lee, though. In the second round, Ferguson found a rhythm and distance that suited him and went to work. His striking landed cleanly throughout the frame, while Lee’s output appeared to slow as the round wore on.
Mike Chiappetta of MMA Fighting noted the issue:
Lee responded by opening the third round with a takedown, but he couldn’t do anything with it. He held Ferguson down for the first minute-and-a-half of the round, but El Cucuy worked his way back to the feet.
The Motown Phenom once again worked the fight to the ground, but Ferguson surprised with an armbar attempt that nearly finished the fight. While Lee defended it, Ferguson then went after the triangle choke, and the tired Lee couldn’t do much to stop it.
Luke Thomas of MMA Fighting gave props to Ferguson for the relentless attack from bottom position:
An emotional Ferguson was eager to call out McGregor to defend his belt, per the UFC Twitter account (warning: NSFW language).
To say Ferguson earned his shot at UFC gold would be an understatement. He’s been one of the hottest fighters in one of the deepest divisions for years. His win runs his streak up to 10 victories.
They have come in impressive fashion, too. He also brought in a streak of five performance-of-the-night bonuses.
Now, he can turn his sights to the Notorious. McGregor hasn’t defended his UFC title since winning the belt from Eddie Alvarez in November 2016. It’s left the 155-pound weight division stagnant, but Ferguson’s win opens things up.
The obvious next step would be for McGregor to come back and unify his belt with the newly minted interim version. However, a trilogy fight with Nate Diaz would also be a possibility, and the lightweight division could once again be in flux.
For Ferguson, his run to the title is about winning and winning only.
“Somewhere along the line, righteousness and virtue has gotten skipped,” Ferguson said, per Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times. “… Good for [McGregor]. He has a lot of likes, a lot of followers. I might not be as marketable as Conor. I don’t care. I make my money winning and I’m here to remind everybody.”
Of course, if McGregor decides to pursue other endeavors, there is the rivalry between Ferguson and No. 1 ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov. The two have been scheduled to fight three times, but injuries and weight-cut issues have nixed the fight every time.
Injuries have been a consistent nuisance for Nurmagomedov. The 24-0 dynamo as only fought twice since 2014, but he has all the tools to be a UFC champion. His meeting Ferguson in the cage might be the best fight the UFC can make outside of a McGregor comeback to the division that he presides over.
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