Tony Ferguson has issued a statement following his loss to Charles Oliveira in the co-main event of UFC 256.
Ferguson was set to return to the Octagon following his loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249. It was his first loss after going on a 12-fight winning streak but has now dropped two in a row.
For Ferguson, he says there are no excuses as he just fell flat in the fight.
“My crew. No excuses, I fell flat.” Tony Ferguson wrote. “I went out and welcomed the attack instead of defend. The warm up time in the back for UFC hasn’t been the same since pre-covid. Still no excuses, times change and so do people. The time from the hotel to the UFC Apex is much more condensed and the aggressive level we needed was not reached.
”After the fight, we were checked by doctors and went back to the hotel. I felt it was in order to hit pads and spar immediately because the fight was fresh in my mind and blood circulation in my arm was needed. I really needed to figure out what the F’n problem was from the fight. Solution: Pre-fight time management.”
Tony Ferguson then went on to discuss the fight and the near armbar finish. El Cucuy also made it clear he is not retiring and says fighting without a crowd does impact him.
“Chuck Was Looking Take My Back or Go For The Armbar As Soon As We Hit The Mat. Thus I Didn’t Worry About The Mount, Kid Was Slick But So Am I,” Ferguson said. “I Was Looking For The Knockout Standing & D’arce From Bottom Position Once We Hit Jits Transitions. It Was Fun Fighting Against A Wetblanket (AKA “Heavy Pressure Opponent”) Mark My Words, That Scenario Won’t Happen Again. Period.”
“My Arm Is Aright, The Armbar Was Really Tight. The Thought Of My Son ArmandAnthony’s Ability To Be Double Jointed In His Elbow During That Sequence & My Mental Capacity To Endure Pain Got Me Through It. # Breathe # MentalTUFness,” Ferguson added. “One I’m Beyond Grateful & Thankful For My Talents I Have Learned So Much About Myself This Year & What My Purpose In Life Is. My Search For That Epic Word Called “greatness” Isn’t Over. Understand Crew We Are Far From Being Retired, So Message To My Haters*ShaBam*
“Shout Out To My Team I Put Together On Three Weeks Notice. We’re Still Green🥇Boys Thanks For Not Deserting💯Me,” he concluded. “(Team, We’re Barely Scratching The Surface To What We Can Truly Accomplish & For That I Say Amen). It Was Great Making Weight & Being Around My Fight Fam For The Week. I Can’t-Wait Til We Compete In Front Of A Big Loud Crowd Again, It’s Not The Same Without You All”
When Tony Ferguson will return to the Octagon is uncertain at this point.
