UFC 249 took place Saturday, May 9, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. The card was headlined by an lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje.
Closing odds are courtesy of two of the most popular Las Vegas based sportsbooks: SuperBookUSA and Circa Sports. Here’s a quick recap of each of those fights.
Favorites that Won
Henry Cejudo defended his bantamweight belt with a vicious knee up the middle followed by 11 unanswered blows to stop Dominick Cruz for the first time in Cruz’s career, then Cejudo promptly retired. Cejudo closed -200. Cruz closed +115
Francis Ngannou wasted little time, blitzing forward and torching Jairzinho Rozenstruik with a brutal right hand to knock him out cold in 20 seconds. Ngannou closed -240. Rozenstruik closed +205
Calvin Kattar ate some big shots early, but fired back with a perfectly-timed elbow to knock out Jeremy Stephens. Kattar closed -230. Stephens closed +195
Greg Hardy survived some early leg kicks from Yorgan de Castro, then outworked de Castro after his pace slowed down to earn a unanimous decision. Hardy closed -220. De Castro closed +190
Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone had a very evenly-matched three-round battle, but Pettis was awarded two out of three rounds on all three judges’ scorecards to win the rematch. Pettis closed -135. Cerrone closed +115
It wasn’t the most entertaining scrap, but Carla Esparza used a timely first round takedown and some late flurries in the pocket to steal a close split decision against Michelle Waterson. Esparza closed -145 while Waterson closed +125
In a fight of the year candidate, Vicente Luque and Niko Price went all out for nearly three full rounds, but Luque came on strong, hurting Price late in the third and forcing a doctor stoppage due to swelling on Price’s eye. Luque closed -265 with the return on Price +225
Bryce Mitchell had his coming out party, dominating BJJ black belt Charles Rosa on the ground with beautiful takedowns and transitions to earn a one-sided unanimous decision. Mitchell closed -175 in the decision while Rosa closed +155
In the opening bout of the night, Ryan Spann started strong and survived a late scare to take a decision against the always game Sam Alvey. Spann closed -345 while Alvey closed +285
Underdogs that Won
In the main event of the evening, Justin Gaethje went to work against Tony Ferguson, blasting Ferguson with massive left and right hooks, while mixing in heavy leg kicks. Ferguson took the shots, but they eventually forced a stoppage in the fifth round to end Ferguson’s 12-fight winning streak. Gaethje closed +195 while Ferguson closed -225
Aleksei Oleinik took the fight to Fabricio Werdum, landing big shots in the first and second rounds and surviving some scary moments on the ground to early a split decision in the biggest victory of his lengthy career. Oleinik closed +250 while Werdum closed -295
