UFC 216: Tony Ferguson calls out Conor McGregor after winning interim lightweight title
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Tony Ferguson submitted fellow challenger Kevin Lee to capture the interim UFC lightweight title at UFC 216, then called for a unification fight with undisputed champion Conor McGregor.
American Ferguson, 33, won the 13th season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2011 to earn his place in the UFC, and on Saturday night ‘El Cucuy’ took his winning streak to 10 in a row with a third-round submission win after a back-and-forth contest at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Lee started the fight the stronger of the two, dropping Ferguson, dominating him on the mat and battering him with ground and pound as the round concluded.
But Ferguson recovered superbly and found his rhythm in the second frame, establishing his jab and taking control as Lee, suffering with a staph infection, started to tire early on.
And, despite finding himself on the receiving end of a huge slam early in the third round, Ferguson took over, almost finishing the 24-year-old with an armbar before eventually forcing the submission via a triangle choke.
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After the fight, an elated Ferguson said the fight went to plan as he looked to use Lee’s aggression against him during the contest.
“This went the exact way I wanted it to be,” he said.
“I wanted him to come at me, use all that aggression and leave no energy for that submission.”
He then demanded a unification fight with undisputed lightweight champion Conor McGregor, calling the Irishman ‘McNugget’ during an expletive-laden rant, telling him to “defend or vacate” his title.
An emotional Lee paid tribute to his opponent after the bout. “I came out here and gave my best,” he said.
“Tony was the better man tonight. Whatever I’m going through doesn’t take away from what he did. He’s the man.”
Mighty Mouse makes history
In the night’s co-main event undisputed UFC flyweight champion Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson claimed a spectacular submission victory over No.3-ranked contender Ray Borg to become the most dominant world champion in UFC history.
Johnson outstruck Borg by a staggering 146 to 14 on the feet and dominated his opponent on the mat as the 31-year-old champion made the 11th straight defence of his UFC world title with one of the best submissions ever seen in a world title fight.
Johnson threw Borg into the air in a belly-to-back suplex, but rather than completing the throw, the champion transitioned to an armbar submission in mid-air and forced the challenger to submit after landing for one of the most spectacular submissions ever seen in the octagon.
Please note: below video contains violent scenes
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After the fight, Johnson paid tribute to the medical staff who attended the tragic events in Las Vegas the previous weekend, before revealing he’d drilled his spectacular finishing sequence repeatedly in training camp: “I hit that suplex to armbar so many times in the gym. That's what we do.
“I’m not in the business of taking hits and concussions. That’s overrated."
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UFC pays tribute to Las Vegas
The event was staged in the aftermath of the tragic shootings in the city less than a week earlier, and during the event the UFC and the fighters themselves paid tribute to the families and to the medical staff and first responders who helped the injured.
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Las Vegas fighter Evan Dunham entered the octagon with a special ‘Vegas Strong’ flag, while all the fighters on the card wore specially-made ‘Vegas Strong’ t-shirts for their respective entrances.
A special message, external was also broadcast to the arena and the viewing public, with UFC president Dana White paying tribute and offering a message of support and defiance for the city the UFC calls home.
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