VIDEO: Tony Ferguson’s Losses in His UFC Career

Published 05/01/2021, 9:10 AM EDT

Tony Ferguson is all set to return to the Octagon to face Beneil Dariush at the UFC 262 event. This fight is going to be really important for Ferguson as he is returning on the back of two losses. Ferguson is 37 years old, and another loss at this point could be terrible for the fighter.

‘El Cucuy’ is often considered as one of the best lightweights of the time. Before his loss to Gaethje, Ferguson had won his last 12 fights and was undefeated for almost 8 years.

Ferguson was on his way to UFC greatness before he lost his previous two fights. So as ‘El Cucuy‘ prepares for the fight, we take a look at the three losses he has suffered during his UFC career.

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His first loss against Michael Johnson

Ferguson’s first UFC loss came at the UFC on Fox Diaz vs. Miller card back in 2012. He had won his previous fights against opponents like Yves Edwards and Aaron Riley and was on a roll. Therefore, everyone expected to see an impressive performance from ‘El Cucuy.’

The fight didn’t pan out as ‘El Cucuy’ might have expected. Johnson was in excellent form and showed drastic improvements in his striking game. Ferguson could not match Johnson. His tendency to throw more power shots and not look for good combos and striking flow hurt him a lot.

‘El Cucuy’ got in 45 strikes, but it seemed pretty less when compared to the 67 well-executed strikes by Johnson. Ferguson even attempted a takedown, but Johnson defended it well and faced no difficulties.

This was Ferguson’s first UFC loss, and it showed the fighter that there was still some way to go if he wanted to be the best in the business.

Tony Ferguson’s first UFC loss after 8 years

8 years later, Ferguson built a reputation as one of the best lightweight fighters in the world. ‘El Cucuy’ had evolved drastically, and many considered him among the only few who could break Khabib Nurmagomedov’s unbeaten streak.

The two fighters had come close to competing frequently, but something or the other always came in the way. Finally, in 2020, it seemed as though their fight was inevitable.

Alas, once again the fight could not happen as ‘The Eagle’ could not leave Russia because of the coronavirus pandemic. Finally, Justin Gaethje was chosen as the opponent for Ferguson and the two competed for the interim UFC lightweight title.

The bout lived up to the standards of a title fight and won the Fight of the Night honors. The fight started great for Ferguson as he got into action straight away and connected with a few good shots, but it was Gaethje who dominated with the hard-hitting shots. And after the first round, ‘The Highlight’ was in a different zone that night.

This loss really hurt Ferguson as it was one that came after 8 years.

Tony Ferguson loses two in a row

After his loss against Gaethje, Ferguson was all pumped up to face Charles Oliveira at UFC 256. ‘El Cucuy’ was ready to show everyone that the defeat against ‘The Highlight’ was just an off night.

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And even though Oliveira was coming into the fight on the back of a seven-match winning streak, many people still believed that El Cucuy’ could defeat ‘Do Bronx’. The fight, which was expected to be a close affair, was far from it as Oliveira dominated from the get-go.

‘Do Bronx’ outclassed Tony Ferguson and ended up winning the fight via a unanimous decision. In his fight against Gaethje, Ferguson at least had some moments of glory, but they were non existent at the UFC Apex.

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Written by:

Paras Pande is a UFC author at EssentiallySports who is pursuing his graduation in Journalism and Mass Communication. An ardent follower of the UFC, he has been covering the sport for 2 years now. Before joining the team at EssentiallySports, Paras gained expertise as an MMA writer whilst working with Sportskeeda.

VIDEO: Tony Ferguson’s Losses in His UFC Career

His first loss against Michael Johnson

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Tony Ferguson’s first UFC loss after 8 years

Tony Ferguson loses two in a row