Tony Ferguson believes he mentally broke Charles Oliveira.
In the co-main event of UFC 256, Ferguson suffered his second straight loss as he was dominated by Oliveira. “El Cucuy” was also nearly submitted in the first round, yet Ferguson believes he was the one who broke Oliveira.
“We’re not gonna waste any energy here, and you guys shouldn’t either in jiu-jitsu matches,” Ferguson said on an Instagram Live (via MMAFighting). “Just be patient and wait for the opportunity for him to advance and get so lazy that in the third round he doesn’t even advance to mount anymore. What he does is he stays controlled into side position looking for something completely different, a different move because he was mentally broken in the first round.”
“I went back and kind of watched film, and without the commentary and how all like, ‘Oh, you got dominated, this and that.’ Okay, to the untrained people in jiu-jitsu,” Ferguson added. “Advancing positions in traditional styles of martial arts, you will get points, advantages, and different types of points. But the judging and the contesting as far as the commission, I don’t even know if it’s there. I’m gonna be real, I don’t.”
Although Ferguson insists he broke Oliveira that didn’t seem to be the case in the fight. The Brazilian won every single round, but his first was the best.
Following the loss as well, John McCarthy hinted at Ferguson being among the 60 fighters released. However, El Cucuy doesn’t see that coming true as the UFC and fans love watching him fight.
“So a question for John McCarthy and The Punk, no I’m not getting f*cking cut,” Ferguson concluded. “Josh, come on dog, you got your ass kicked. Don’t start that sh*t. The fans love me. They want to see me fight again. And I love you guys too.”