Two of the best lightweights in the world met inside of the Octagon this past weekend (Sat., Oct. 7, 2017) at UFC 216 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, as divisional staple Tony Ferguson challenged rising youngster Kevin Lee for the interim 155-pound strap.
Both lightweights started out strong. Lee landed a hard head kick and right hand early, while “El Cucuy” dropped Lee along the cage after getting poked in the eye. A mad scramble would give Lee top position, but Ferguson did a great job landing elbows from the bottom and threatening with submissions. Lee scored hard ground-and-pound before the round came to an end and landed a few extra shots after the bell. Ferguson landed a crisp right hand over the top to start Round 2 and continued scoring with his lead jab and kicks to the body. The veteran followed those efforts up with a smashing elbow down the pipe that snapped Lee’s head back and drew blood.
Ferguson really started to chirp at Lee entering the third round, but it was “Motown Phenom” who secured a big takedown along the cage to gain top control. It was much needed considering Lee looked noticeably tired entering the round. Ferguson got back to his feet but didn’t really do much before Lee took him down again. “El Cucuy” nearly locked in a fight-ending armbar, but Lee stepped over Ferguson and wiggled his arm free. In the split of a second, Ferguson threw up a triangle choke and held on until Lee tapped and the referee jumped in for the third-round submission stoppage.
Check out the full fight video highlights above courtesy of UFC.
With this win, Ferguson walks away with the interim UFC lightweight championship and extends his current win streak to 10. Outside of Nate Diaz, Ferguson is on the short list of potential fighters to welcome current UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor back to the Octagon. Ferguson looked sensational last night at UFC 216 despite having not fought in almost 12 months and remains a serious problem for anyone at 155 pounds ... “Notorious” included.
For complete UFC 216 results and coverage click here.
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