How Tony Ferguson Lost to Charles Oliveira

Fans are excited about the UFC 262 event which will take place this month on May 15. Around 17,000 fans will flood the Toyota Center Huston, Texas, to attend the event. The card looks stacked from top to bottom, marking the return of Nate Diaz in the co-main event against Leon Edwards. The main event will feature the Lightweight title shown down between Charles Oliveira and UFC newcomer Michael Chandler. Plus, fan favorite Tony Ferguson will battle Beneil Dariush in a key battle in the Lightweight division.

Ferguson is on a two-fight losing streak. Therefore, he needs a desperate win to stay at the top 5 in UFC Lightweight rankings. At the age of 37, ‘El Cucuy’ can’t afford one more loss in his record.

His latest loss came against Charles Oliveira, who will headline the same card at UFC 262. The fight between Oliveira and Ferguson was featured as the co-main event of the evening, under Figueiredo versus Moreno last December in 2020. Tony Ferguson was coming off a defeat at UFC 249 against Justin Gaethje. He was confident and eager to win while coming in the Oliveira fight, but ‘Do Bronx’ had his own plans.

Round 1: The nasty armbar

Charles Oliveira and Tony Ferguson started the fight with a touch of groves as a gesture of respect. Both looked measure and composed before the duo started trading punches in kicks. Oliveira landed the first takedown of the fight within 90 seconds of round 1. He controlled his opponent on the ground for almost the entire round before he switched to an armbar in the final 10 seconds.

Ferguson agonized in pain but never tapped until the last second of the round. The armbar was so deep and nasty that Daniel Cormier, on the commentator’s booth, said, “I couldn’t even watch it, Joe, I was looking away.”

‘El Cucuy’ showed his toughness and survived the round.

Round 2: The illegal up kick by Tony Ferguson

Both the guys exchanged leg kicks in the opening minute of the second round. Ferguson threw his right leg, which got caught and took him to the ground. While ‘El Cucuy’ was on the mat, he threw an up kick from the bottom, which opened up a cut near the left eye of the Brazilian fighter. The referee paused the action as he thought the kick was illegal because ‘Do Bronx’ was grounded. The round resumed from the same position and ended with Oliveira on the top.

Round 3: Total domination by Charles Oliveira

The fight again got on the ground after the first minute of round 3. Charles Oliveira grabbed ‘El Cucuy’ from the front and slammed him down. Ferguson tried to overcome adversity by rolling Oliveira with the help of the cage, but got stuck in a triangle choke. ‘El Cucuy’ somehow escaped the choke, but wasn’t able to get on his feet.

The fight ended with complete domination showed by the Brazilian over his opponent, Tony Ferguson. He won the fight convincingly by unanimous decision. This was his eighth consecutive win, which ultimately got him the title shot.

Also read: Mikey Garcia Explains Why He Never Fought UFC Fighter Max Holloway

Will Charles Oliveira showcase another master class performance at UFC 262?