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Nicolas Atkin

Tony Ferguson has broken his silence after his UFC 256 defeat against Charles Oliveira.
The 31-year-old Brazilian (30-8, one no contest) took a unanimous decision at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night to hand former interim champ “El Cucuy” (26-5) a second straight defeat.
Ferguson’s fifth-round TKO loss to Justin Gaethje in May had snapped a 12-fight win streak that had propelled him to a showdown with Khabib Nurmagomedov, before their highly anticipated match-up was scrapped for a fifth time because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Do Bronx” made it an even more miserable 2020 for Ferguson, who somehow survived a deep first-round armbar attempt where his arm was bent backwards.


“My arm is all right, the armbar was really tight,” the American wrote on Instagram, alongside some pictures of his left arm during and after some cupping therapy treatment.
“The thought of my son Armand Anthony’s ability to be double-jointed in his elbow during that sequence and my mental capacity to endure pain got me through it.”




















View this post on Instagram























A post shared by @TonyFergusonxt (@tonyfergusonxt)



No 7-ranked Oliveira is likely to leapfrog No 3 Ferguson when Tuesday’s updated UFC rankings are released, and he has called to fight the winner of January’s UFC 257 main event between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor.
For Ferguson, it will be a long way back to positioning himself for a title shot again, but he vowed to carry on.
“No excuses, I felt flat. I went out and welcomed the attack, instead of defend,” Ferguson wrote. “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 UFC Apex is much more condensed and the aggressive level we needed was not reached. My fault.

“After the fight, we were checked by doctors and went back to the hotel. I felt it was in order to hit pads/spar immediately because the fight was fresh in my mind and blood circulation in my arm was needed. .
“Chuck was looking to 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.

Tony Ferguson refuses to tap somehow to that extremely sunk in armbar from Oliveira #UFC256 pic.twitter.com/Axl7uWAlDC
— MMA mania (@mmamania) December 13, 2020

“I was looking for the knockout standing and D’Arce from bottom position once we hit jits [jiu-jitsu] transitions. It was fun fighting against a wet blanket (aka ‘heavy pressure opponent’). Mark my words, that scenario won’t happen again. Period.
“I’m beyond grateful and thankful for my talents,” he added. “I have learned so much about myself this year and 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.”


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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

UFC: Tony Ferguson explains how he didn’t tap after Charles Oliveira bent his arm backwards

Tony Ferguson shows off his arm while receiving cupping therapy treatment after his UFC 256 defeat by Charles Oliveira. Photo: Instagram

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 12: (R-L) Tony Ferguson kicks Charles Oliveira of Brazil in their lightweight bout during the UFC 256 event at UFC APEX on December 12, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

UFC 256: Charles Oliveira’s utter domination of Tony Ferguson brings title shot one step closer

Charles Oliveira punches Tony Ferguson in their lightweight bout during UFC 256. Photo: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 12:  (R-L) Tony Ferguson kicks Charles Oliveira of Brazil in their lightweight bout during the UFC 256 event at UFC APEX on December 12, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

UFC 256: Dana White lauds ‘greatest fight in flyweight history’ as Deiveson Figueiredo, Brandon Moreno battle to draw

Brandon Moreno punches Deiveson Figueiredo in their flyweight championship bout during UFC 256. Photos: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 12: (R-L) Deiveson Figueiredo of Brazil punches Brandon Moreno of Mexico in their flyweight championship bout during the UFC 256 event at UFC APEX on December 12, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

UFC 256: Rafael Fiziev gets first-round KO of Renato Moicano as Vegas pays dividends

Rafael Fiziev punches Renato Moicano in their lightweight bout during UFC 256. Photos: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 12:  (L-R) Renato Moicano of Brazil punches Rafael Fiziev of Kyrgyzstan in their lightweight bout during the UFC 256 event at UFC APEX on December 12, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

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‘Do Bronx’ sunk first-round submission in deep but former interim champ says ‘my mental capacity to endure pain got me through it’
Ferguson says ‘no excuses’ but puts flat performance down to shorter warm-up times during Covid-19 era



Tony Ferguson says ‘my mental capacity to endure pain got me through it’ after Charles Oliveira sunk a first-round armbar in deep and bent his limb backwards.


Tony Ferguson