Tony Ferguson hospitalized after brutal battering at hands of Justin Gaethje at UFC 249

Tony Ferguson will be licking his wounds in more ways than one on Sunday morning after he was taken to hospital for injuries suffered in his TKO defeat to Justin Gaethje in a fight which removes 'El Cucuy' from title contention.

Ferguson was stopped late in the fifth round after a prolonged beating at the hands of newly-crowned interim lightweight champion Gaethje in their UFC 249 headline clash, and the fight left quite the physical toll on Ferguson. 

With his 12-fight, eight-year winning streak snapped in definitive fashion, the 36-year-old was taken to a nearby medical facility in Jacksonville to receive treatment for a number of facial wounds he suffered throughout the near 25-minute fight.

He also suffered a large swelling under his right eye.

Ferguson seemed strangely gun-shy throughout the fight, a far cry from the dramatic performances he authored throughout the course of his impressive streak of victories, with UFC boss Dana White confirming to the media post-fight that Ferguson had been taken to hospital to have his injuries evaluated.

"I thought Tony Ferguson looked off tonight. He looked slow," White added. 

For his part, Ferguson showed some initial anger at the referee's decision to call the fight off in the fifth round before resigning himself to his fate.

The scorecards, which ultimately weren't needed, were distributed to the media after the fight and showed that Gaethje was en route to winning a clear-cut decision.

"It was a long camp," Ferguson said after the fight. "The weight cut had nothing to do with it. Justin's a tough son of a b*tch, I'll be real.

"I prepared for Khabib; not too much of a striker. But sh*t happens, man. What can you do? I would've much rather got finished instead of having somebody step in.

"Let's go back and get it on, you now what I mean? The consolation round you have to win back. Props to Justin, like I said, and his team; tough son of a b*tch. Thank you for taking the fight."

Niko Price, who suffered a grotesque facial injury in his bout with Vicente Luque, was also transported to a local hospital after his fight for medical evaluation.