Justin Gaethje (22-2) earned a referee stoppage over Tony Ferguson (26-4) to win the interim lightweight title in the main event of UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Fla.

Gaethje started fast against Ferguson, prepared for everything the former interim champion had to open the fight. Gaethje stung Ferguson over and again with a huge left hook, finding openings often throughout the first round. The second was much of the same, with Gaethje throwing absolute bombs. Gaethje continued to land huge shots, opening a cut over Ferguson’s right eye. But Ferguson landed a stiff uppercut that put Gaethje on his back before the bell saved him.

In the third, Gaethje hurt Ferguson with a big right. Ferguson kept coming forward and Gaethje continued dropping bombs. At the three minute mark, Ferguson began putting it together, finding combinations with quick shots and getting out of the pocket before Gaethje could respond.

Gaethje opened the fourth in a more passive state, allowing Ferguson to control the pace and opting to counter punch. Gaethje appeared to hurt Ferguson late in the round, but he escaped without much damage. In the final round, Gaethje continued to pepper Ferguson’s legs, hurting him over and again before the referee stopped the bout.

Ferguson came into Saturday night’s main event riding a 12-fight win streak, with his last loss coming in 2012. A former interim lightweight champion, Ferguson previously was forced to relinquish the belt after suffering a torn LCL in a freak injury on a television set.

Gaethje stepped in as a replacement for the current lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov after he left the United States to travel to the UAE, where it was assumed the event would take place. He was eventually re-routed to Russia due to travel restrictions and acknowledged he was under quarantine. Gaethje entered the event on a three-fight win streak following consecutive losses to top contender Dustin Poirier-Khabib and former champion Eddie Alvarez. With the win, he became the first fighter to TKO Ferguson.

Following the win, Gaethje will only do so much celebrating. With Nurmagomedov waiting in the wings, and apparently ready as soon as July, these two could fight before the end of 2020.

The season finale of SNL At Home saw the cast pull out all the stops, starting with an impressive get in “host” Kristen Wig and a musical tribute to mothers from Boyz II Men. But it got started with Alec Baldwin giving a special gift to graduates and drinking bleach as Donald Trump.

Reprising the character who appeared “by phone” during the first SNL At Home, Baldwin put on a makeup-less Trump impression to address the Class of 2020 on what’s certainly going to be a disappointing graduation year for many. Trump appeared over more favorable picks like Axel Rose, the murder hornets and the “Elon Musk-Grimes baby.”

“My valet got the virus so I had to do my own makeup,” Trump said. “I had to resort to a Liza Minelli TikTok makeup tutorial.

Baldwin said his Trump was treated poorly, worse than Lincoln, which got some folks up in arms that got them muted.

“Hey, let’s mute him. Let’s mute a lot of the jazz types,” Baldwin said when the cast members of color spoke to object to his speech.

Trump drank some Clorox bleach, which he called “invincibility juice.” As graduates started to log off the Zoom call, he gave out what he claimed it would be inspirational advice.

“Reach for the stars because if you’re a star they’ll let you do it,” Trump said.

Baldwin finished the opening segment by saying “Taped from my home, one last time: It’s Saturday Night Live.” It’s not clear if that means he’s finally done with playing Trump on the show or if he simply meant it was the season finale of what’s been three straight SNL At Home episodes, but it certainly was a fitting way to end the first sketch of one of the strangest seasons of SNL ever made.

Henry Cejudo (16-2) earned a referee stoppage to beat Dominick Cruz (22-3) with just two seconds left in the second round to successfully defend his bantamweight title at UFC 249 from Jacksonville, Fla. In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, the 33-year-old Cruz announced his retirement from the sport, as he’s got “nothing left to prove.”

Cejudo opened the bout chopping away at Cruz, aiming to slow down his eccentric fighting style early. Cruz didn’t lose a step, but spent much of the first round feigning, reading and reacting. To open the second, Cruz began to piece together his movements and strikes, hitting low with kicks and finishing up top with quick jabs. While Cruz snapped a handful of shots, Cejudo stayed with the game plan and continued to snap leg kicks. Late in the round, a clash of heads opened a a gash on Cejudo. After a momentary break, Cejudo caught Cruz with a brutal knee and finished him with a ref stoppage with seconds left in the round.

In his first fight of 2020, Cejudo returned from shoulder surgery that derailed his stellar 2019 to join just Daniel Cormier has the only fighters to successfully defend their titles in multiple weight classes. Cejudo ends his career with one of the most impressive runs in the organization’s history. After joining the UFC as an Olympic gold medalist, he beat the legendary Demetrious Johnson, knocked out T.J. Dillashaw in his flyweight title defense and TKO’d Marlon Moraes to win the vacant bantamweight belt.

Cruz hadn’t competed in the UFC since he lost the bantamweight crown against Cody Garbrandt in late 2016. Injuries have kept him out of the Octagon as of late, but he was preparing for a return against a top contender, looking to earn his way back into a title fight. Instead, he slid ahead of other top contenders to face off with Cejudo. The future of the bantamweight division is now filled with uncertainty, but Cruz is expected to be heavily involved in the title picture.

Francis Ngannou (15-3) knocked out Jairzinho Rozenstruik (10-1) seconds into their fight at UFC 249 in Jacksonville, Fla., to earn the next title shot in the heavyweight division.

Rozenstruik opened slow with an inside leg kick before Ngannou unloaded with a flurry of shots, eventually landing with a left hook to put his opponent to sleep.

As Ngannou explained after the bout, he let his frustration boil over against Rozenstruik, having been overlooked for the next heavyweight title opportunity. Stipe Miocic is currently slated to finalize his trilogy with Daniel Cormier at some point this year. With the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, Miocic has been unable to train, pushing his eventual bout with Cormier down the road. Once that fight is out of the way, though, Dana White has confirmed Ngannou will be next in line for his second shot at UFC gold.

After losing his first title shot to Miocic in what was a career-altering loss in 2018, it was fair to question the future for Ngannou. He stumbled through a decision win over Derrick Lewis and had clearly lost his confidence. Since then, Ngannou has been on a tear, needing less than two minutes to knock out each of his last four opponents. Ngannou has now beaten top contenders Cain Velasquez, Junior dos Santos, and the formerly unbeaten Rozenstruik in his last three fights.

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Small talk makes my palms sweat.

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The proof is in the photos.

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This quiz is magical.

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