Justin Gaethje sensationally stopped Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 to become the interim lightweight champion in the first major US sporting event since the coronavirus pandemic.

Gaethje, who was a late replacement for champion Khabib Nurmagomedov after the Russian flew back home due to the COVID-19 outbreak, stopped his opponent in the fifth round following a dominant display behind closed doors in Florida.

After getting the better of the early exchanges on their feet, Gaethje was caught cold and dropped by Ferguson at the end of the second round.

Not letting that faze him, the challenger then came out with a more cautious approach and proceeded to pick Ferguson off in the third and fourth rounds, before stopping him on his feet in the fifth.

Ferguson was taken to hospital after the fight due to the severe cuts and injuries he had sustained to his face.

Meanwhile, although Gaethje had claimed the interim lightweight belt as a result of his victory, he regused to wear the strap and insisted he wants undefeated rival and full champion Khabib next.

Speaking in his post-fight interview, he said: “I am waiting for the real one. There is no better job on earth than this but it is each day at a time.

“I had to lose to change and once I understood I was getting hit too much I improved. I want to fight Khabib, there is no other fight I want right now.”

Elsewhere on the card, heavyweight Francis Ngannou devastatingly knocked out Jairzinho Rozenstruik in just 20 seconds for his fourth KO victory in a row.

And Henry Cejudo surprisingly announced his retirement after defeating Dominick Cruz by second round TKO.