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Despite losing in a shutout unanimous decision, Tony Ferguson believes that he mentally broke Charles Oliveira at UFC 256.
Tony Ferguson has always thought and behaved outside the box, but even those fully aware of his eccentricities may be taken aback by Ferguson’s assessment of his UFC 256 loss to Charles Oliveira. Oliveira was able to win via a lopsided unanimous decision (30-26X3), and after the bout, Ferguson was reflective on what led to the loss. He attributed the defeat to his lack of the appropriate aggression. Fast forward a few days later, and Ferguson now believes his opponent was mentally broken from the first round, despite Oliveira nearly breaking Ferguson’s arm in said round and being in top position for nearly the entirety of the fight.
“We’re not gonna waste any energy here, and you guys shouldn’t either in jiu-jitsu matches,” Ferguson said in an Instagram Live story. “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.”
Tony Ferguson would then elaborate and explain why words such as “dominant,” are misnomers from a jiu-jitsu standpoint. Ferguson believes that since the alleged domination took place strictly on the mat, it should be judged by jiu-jitsu standards, in which case Oliveira’s performance would not qualify as dominant.
“I went back and kind of watched film and without the commentary and how all like, ‘Oh, you got dominated, this and that.’ OK, to the untrained people in jiu-jitsu. Advancing positions in traditional styles of martial arts, you will get points, advantages, and you will get 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.”
What are your thoughts on Tony Ferguson’s claim that he broke Charles Oliveira in the first round at UFC 256?