There are rarely silver linings in sports after a loss. Especially for someone like Tony Ferguson, who was completely dominated by Charles Oliveira. Regardless of defeat, fans around the world and UFC President Dana White were in awe of the toughness displayed by Ferguson, especially not tapping from a grueling armbar.
From the very first sound of the bell, Oliveira shined. His standup was crisp, his scrambles were purposeful, and his grappling was world-class. Even against an opponent in Ferguson who prides himself on his groundwork, especially off of his back.
Late into the first round, Oliveira transitioned to mount and applied a vicious armbar. While many thought the fight was over, Ferguson didn’t tap out and continued to fight.
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
Dana White Impressed with Tony Ferguson
After the match, Dana White spoke to the media about UFC 256. He spoke about the result of the fight, Tony’s toughness, and what could possibly be next for the lightweight contender.
“There was some debates going into that fight, I thought we were going to see the old Tony,” White said. “I thought that the last fight [against Gaethje] he was affected by weight cutting.”
“I mean 10 out of 10 people tap to that armbar,” continued Dana. “The fact that he even made it through the armbar is unbelievable and just a testament to how tough and durable and crazy Tony Ferguson is.”
Assessing the Future
As far as Ferguson’s future is concerned, Dana believes that he should take some time off and regroup. Especially before making any decisions about his fight future.
“But Tony needs to go home and spend the holidays with his family, take some time off and think about what he wants to do next year. We’ll see what’s next for him. Every time you fight in this business, that’s always possible.”
Who do fans want to see Tony Ferguson face after Christmas break?
