“He Was Preparing For a Grappler”- Joe Rogan Recalls Tony Ferguson vs Justin Gaethje Slugfest

Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson fought for the Interim Lightweight Championship at UFC 249. Millions of viewers saw the event on screens, with only a few people witnessing the spectacle before their very own eyes. One of them was event commentator Joe Rogan Rogan who labeled the spectacle as “A wild 5 round slugfest with no audience.”  He went on to describe the slugfest in greater detail on The Joe Rogan Experience.  

Joe Rogan Opens up on Tony Ferguson vs Justin Gaethje 

“I think Justin had a gameplan and he executed it brilliantly. And I think Ferguson he’s always gonna be Ferguson. He’s one of the toughest men to walk the face of the earth. But I think he was preparing for a grappler, he was preparing for Khabib Nurmagomedov.”

This is what many observers agree with as he seemed ready to capitalize on takedown attempts rather than stand up striking which ‘The Highlight’ was engaging in. 

“That fight was supposed to happen in April. He was training for Khabib. He’s been training for fuckin years right. So he’s been training for this elite grappler who takes everything down and smashes em. He’s thinking of cutting him from the bottom, submitting and scrambling and leg locks and then he’s fighting an All-American wrestler who does not want to go to the ground and has nasty striking.

“It’s a totally different gameplan and he has to make the adjustment over a few weeks. Justin always fights the same way, his adjustments aren’t nearly as big as Tony’s. Tony had to make some big adjustments but Justin just fought a masterpiece. The way he fought was magnificent.”

This comment exemplifies the tactical battle plan ‘The Highlight’ employed and earned plaudits for. He kept the battle away from what ‘El Cucuy’ spent months readying himself for. Furthermore, he was prepared to make changes during the fight. Rogan says ‘The Highlight’s coach urged him to go for accuracy rather than power in his punches. 

“He made that adjustment and his cardio leveled out. And he realized you can’t knock Tony out with one shot. He’s inhumanly tough. So Justin backs it off, winds up dominating and they stop it in the 5th round.” 

Justin Gaethje will face Khabib Nurmagomedov next in a unification bout. When do you think it will happen?