Issue 182

September 2019

Almost all of the pre-fight build-up to UFC 229 was focused on the showdown between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, but at the end of the night, the Fight of the Night honors went to Tony Ferguson and Anthony Pettis who put on an exhilarating lightweight co-main event.

Prior to the fight, there were questions marks over whether Ferguson had rushed back to action too soon following major knee surgery earlier in the year, but from the outset, it was obvious that “El Cucuy” was ready for war and he edged a close first round with his relentless output.

Pettis came storming back though at the start of the second and “Showtime” dropped Ferguson with a beautiful right hand to put his man on the deck. Ferguson remained calm, however and after fighting back to his feet he opened up a deep wound on the forehead of Pettis who was almost instantly wearing a crimson mask. Ferguson then proceeded to march Pettis down and suffocate him with strikes against the cage with haymakers, knees and elbows cutting and slicing away at the face of Pettis.

After ten incredible minutes where both fighters gave as good as they got, Pettis’ coach Duke Roufus called an end to it after learning Pettis had broken his hand in the second round.

Though no one wanted to see the fight waved off, every single fan in the T-Mobile Arena rose to their feet to acknowledge the fighters' efforts as both men congratulated one another on an incredible scrap.

Ferguson left the Octagon with yet another W, but ultimately the fans around the world were the real winners and they saw fit to make it the 2018 World MMA Awards Fight of the Year.