Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee following their fight this past Saturday (All photos: Instagram)

By Chris Robinson

It’s often a special thing to see when two gladiators engage one another on the biggest of stages.

That was exactly this case this past Saturday, Oct. 7, inside of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. at UFC 216 as Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee engaged in a battle for the UFC interim lightweight championship.

The champion of the lightweight division (155 pounds) is still technically Conor McGregor, despite his Aug. 26 TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather in a boxing event. Ferguson (23-3) and Lee (16-3) had a lot riding on this match, including the possibility of the winner facing McGregor, so there was much was on the line.

The first round appeared to belong to Lee, as he dropped Ferguson early and appeared to dictate the pace, while the action later went to the ground, as Ferguson survived a takedown from Lee before the bell sounded for the end of the round.

Ferguson fought much better in the second and appeared to take the round off of his activity and accuracy. In each round, you could tell that each man respected the other’s abilities, and many of the exchanges were thrilling to watch.

In the third round, the action again went to the floor, as Ferguson was this time able to secure a TKO victory via a triangle at the 4:02 mark.

With the victory, Ferguson becomes interim champion while also calling for a matchup with McGregor.

“Where you at McNuggets?” Ferguson asked afterwards. “I’ll kick your ass! Defend now or vacate!”

In a great sign of respect, Ferguson and Lee could be seen embracing afterwards. The future is very bright for both men.

Check below for more photos from fight night.

Chris Robinson can be reached at CRobinson@hustleboss.com