It didn’t go Tony Ferguson’s way in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.
The former interim UFC lightweight champion suffered his sixth consecutive defeat in the promotion’s 155-pound fold when he was choked unconscious by by Bobby Green in the closing seconds of a fight he was already losing on the scorecards, in what was Green’s first submission victory in more than a decade.
The downturn in results experienced by Ferguson has been precipitous since his most recent win in the cage, which came in 2019 against Donald Cerrone, shows that age-old combat sports cliche of ‘Father Time’ being undefeated remains a consistent foe to fighters in the latter stages of their careers.
In a statement posted to Instagram over the weekend, though, Ferguson noted that an early eye-poke he received from Green was a significant contributing factor to his defeat.
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He wrote (in his own inimitable style): “Walked into the Delta🏟️Center to show the world I was back on track 💯 The preparation for this fight was exceptional & it was one of the best⛰️camps I’ve had 🥇 As the fight began, I was in the🔥Xone, flowing & feeling confident 🦹♂️ Bobby knew the direction of the fight & I believe he knew what he was doing when he🫵poked my👁️eye. He has a big History of moves like this 🎓 It significantly impaired my vision, making it difficult to see clearly out of my eye. Despite this eye poke I never considered stopping the fight 👎 Although the👨⚕️doc wanted too. Throughout my career, I’ve always pushed through challenges & never given up 💯 This time was no different.
“Walked into the Delta🏟️Center to show the world I was back on track 💯 The preparation for this fight was exceptional & it was one of the best⛰️camps I’ve had 🥇 As the fight began, I was in the🔥Xone, flowing & feeling confident 🦹♂️ Bobby knew the direction of the fight & I believe he knew what he was doing when he🫵poked my👁️eye. He has a big History of moves like this 🎓 It significantly impaired my vision, making it difficult to see clearly out of my eye. Despite this eye poke I never considered stopping the fight 👎 Although the👨⚕️doc wanted too. Throughout my career, I’ve always pushed through challenges & never given up 💯 This time was no different.”
It remains to be seen exactly what Ferguson’s next move will be, but UFC matchmakers have in previous situations been hesitant to book ageing fighters in the midst of a decline in results. Whether or not that also applies to Ferguson will likely be revealed in the coming weeks and months.
