5 key questions that emerged from UFC 249

The UFC returned this past weekend after a two-month hiatus, and its stacked UFC 249 card delivered.

Justin Gaethje's interim-title win over Tony Ferguson, Henry Cejudo's victory over Dominick Cruz and sudden retirement, and Francis Ngannou's 20-second knockout of Jairzinho Rozenstruik were just a few of the highlights from Jacksonville.

With UFC 249 in the books, theScore explores five questions that have emerged from the event.

Will Ferguson bounce back from this setback?

Ferguson suffered his first loss since 2012, and it was a brutal one. His face was cut and bloodied by the end of the fight, and it was later revealed he fractured his orbital bone.

"El Cucuy" endured considerably more punishment against Gaethje than in any of his past fights. Gaethje battered the former interim titleholder with heavy left hands and leg kicks until the referee stepped in late in the bout to save Ferguson from any further damage.

If there's anyone that has the right mindset to bounce back from a tough loss like this one, it's Ferguson. He's a unique individual, to say the least. But physically, it might not be so easy. Some losses can change fighters as we saw with Renan Barao following his fight with T.J. Dillashaw or even Anthony Pettis after Rafael dos Anjos. And at 36 years old, it wouldn't be surprising if Ferguson is never quite the same after getting destroyed.

Can Ngannou go the distance?

Ngannou is the talk of the town following his 20-second knockout win over rising heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Many fans are relishing in the fact that Ngannou's past four fights have lasted fewer than three minutes - combined.

That's certainly an incredible feat, especially considering "The Predator" has been facing former champions and top contenders. But it's been clear that Ngannou possesses devastating knockout power since he first stepped into the Octagon a few years ago, so this four-fight winning streak hasn't told us a whole lot that we didn't already know.

The 33-year-old suffered back-to-back losses in 2018, including a one-sided fight against heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, which exposed Ngannou's lack of cardio and ground game. This isn't to say Ngannou hasn't made improvements since then. He trains hard and has good coaches. But we have no evidence of that growth because of how quickly his fights have ended.

Until Ngannou goes into the third minute - or better yet, the second or third round - again and shows he can win longer fights, I can't be confident that a second fight with Miocic would go much differently.

Should Ngannou wait for a title shot?

Absolutely.

Fighters like to fight, but I've always been in favor of choosing to wait if someone clearly deserves a title shot. For instance, Ferguson was scheduled to fight lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov on April 18, opted to fight Gaethje after Nurmagomedov was forced out of the bout, and then lost the opportunity to fight for the undisputed belt. Ferguson had so much to lose and so little to gain in the Gaethje fight and agreeing to it backfired.

Ngannou, whose next fight should definitely be for the title, could find himself in a similar spot if he's not careful. It must be frustrating to have to wait for Miocic to complete his trilogy with Daniel Cormier, especially since we don't even know when that fight will happen. But it's in the Cameroon native's best interest to sit tight and wait for the winner rather than fight someone else. If Ngannou gets impatient and takes another non-title fight, he could risk not getting a shot at the belt at all.

Will Cejudo fight again?

I believe Cejudo's retirement is legitimate, but I also think he'll most likely return to the cage at some point down the road.

Though the UFC bantamweight champion is known for his cringe-worthy antics, he seemed pretty genuine when revealing he's walking away from the sport. Cejudo indicated he wants to start a family.

But he also implied that he's given a certain number to UFC president Dana White, so it sounds like Cejudo will come back if he's paid what he believes he's worth. MMA retirements rarely last forever, and the 33-year-old remains in his prime. A lot of big fights were awaiting him before he called it quits.

If Cejudo never competes again, his retirement will go down as one of the most sudden in MMA history. But "Triple C" still has a lot going for him, and it'll be tough to pass that up entirely.

Who should fight for the vacant bantamweight title?

Assuming Cejudo follows through with his retirement plans, White said after Saturday's event that a vacant title fight will occur later in 2020.

The executive already revealed No. 3 bantamweight Petr Yan will be one of the two fighters vying for the belt. Yan is an obvious choice, and so is No. 2 Aljamain Sterling.

Yan is undefeated in the promotion and holds notable wins over UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber, Jimmie Rivera, and John Dodson. Sterling, meanwhile, has won four straight, including victories over Pedro Munhoz and Rivera.

Before Cejudo's retirement, deciding who would get the next title shot was shaping up to be a tough call. Sterling and Yan equally deserved a crack at UFC gold, yet it would obviously only go to one of them. But with Cejudo out of the picture, Sterling-Yan is clearly the fight to make.