Interesting Stats You Must Know Before Tony Ferguson vs Justin Gaethje

With UFC 249 lurking around the corner, here are some amazing stats about Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje. This article will analyze how these stats will factor into the fight.

For days, UFC President Dana White has been screaming about how great the main event of UFC 249 will be. The UFC juggernaut “guarantees” a barn burner, and a Fight of the Year candidate.

Usually, he would not make such claims. But in this case, White cannot be more right!

Tony Ferguson

Ferguson is one of the most unorthodox fighters in the company; some call him crazy, while others call him a genius. But what makes him so special?

Pressure
‘El Cucuy’ is known to put intense pressure on his opponents right off the bat. Many of his rivals did not even make it to the end of the fight. 21 of his 25 career victories are by stoppages.

Records
His 12 fight win streak is the longest in the lightweight division. Khabib Nurmagomedov is the only other man to hold that record. The “Boogeyman” also has the most number of D’Arce chokes (3) in the UFC.

Unorthodox
Tony is not your average fighter. He can pull off stunts that nobody else can. Elbows and front kicks to the body are two of his best weapons. Also, watch out for spinning elbows and Imanari rolls out of nowhere.

Recovery
Ferguson got rocked a couple of times in his UFC career. Fortunately, he recovered in all of the fights. He was badly hurt in his fights against Anthony Pettis and Lando Vannata. Nevertheless, he finished both of them.

Justin Gaethje

Gaethje is arguably the hardest hitter in the lightweight division. Before joining the UFC, he was undefeated as a pro and an amateur. His only two losses came via Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez.

Power
19 of his 21 career victories are via stoppages. And all of his UFC victories came through knockouts.

Leg Kicks
Gaethje has devastating leg kicks in his repertoire. He lands around 2.9 leg kicks per minute, the highest in the company. Check out the picture of Dustin Poirier’s leg after his victory over Gaethje.

Pressure
The ‘Highlight’ never backs down from a fight. He is the only fighter to land more than 100 significant strikes in his first 3 UFC fights. His significant strike rate is at 55.6, which is insane!

Bonuses
Gaethje has received a bonus for every fight in the UFC. He has been awarded seven post-fight bonuses in six UFC fights.

Who takes home the belt?

Ferguson is better prepared for this matchup. This is one of the longest training camps of his career. But he had a practice weight cut just over 2 weeks ago. Will it compromise his chin?

Gaethje’s power will be a factor in the fight. If he hands clean on Ferguson’s chin, there is no doubt that it will result in a knockout. Yet, to land that right hand, he will have to chop down Ferguson’s legs and close the distance, which is very difficult. \

Ferguson has a 76-inch reach and probably the best push kicks in the division.

Finally, the ‘Highlight’ has to be worried about body shots. It has been a vulnerability in his game which Alvarez and Poirier exploited. Ferguson has threatened to go for the body and it won’t be surprising to see him do that.

The fight itself is difficult to predict. However, the conditioning of Ferguson shall be the deciding factor of this match. Even Justin Gaethje said that he must finish Ferguson early. Otherwise, he will get pieced up.

Ferguson’s cardio will help him pick up the win.

Winner: Tony Ferguson (Round 3/ Submission)