WATCH: Dominick Cruz Gives an Insight to Why Tony Ferguson Is Such a Skilled Fighter

Tony Ferguson will return this weekend in the co-main event of UFC 256 against Charles Oliveira. Ferguson will be looking to get back into the win column after his defeat to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249. Ferguson has lost only once in his last 13 fights spanning over the last 8 years.

“El Cucuy” will be determined to get back to the title contention with a win over “Do Bronx” this weekend. Before the highly anticipated lightweight clash, Dominick Cruz breaks down how Tony Ferguson fights and how he has overwhelmed his opponents.

Ferguson is a pressure fighter who keeps the pace like no one else. His conditioning is unmatched. Apart from that, he is very skillful as well in the standup and also on the ground. His unorthodox fighting style is tough for opponents to read. He uses elbows, kicks as his primary weapons.

As Dominick Cruz said, “Now with Ferguson, don’t forget about the other weapons he has. After he kicks you here from far out, he’s touching you with these long-range weapons. Tip kicks to jabs, straights. Then he starts working you in. You throw a hook, he gets inside. Then he starts working his elbows. “

Elbows are one of the most important aspects of Ferguson’s fighting style. His elbows are brutal and vicious and cause damage to the opponents. Those are real fight changers. As seen in his fight against Josh Thompson- a competitive fight turned into Ferguson’s control once he landed a brutal elbow. Also, in his UFC 229 clash against Anthony Pettis, despite being dropped by “Showtime”, Ferguson damaged Pettis too much with his elbows.

Tony Ferguson loves throwing elbows

Cruz breaks down how Ferguson brings those effective elbows to his game.

He said, “One of his favorite things is parrying a jab or parrying a right. Now parrying means you block it and it kind of deflects. It goes this way or he’ll stop it. What Ferguson does, he will parry and then come with an elbow.” 

Ferguson is a very long and rangy fighter for the lightweight division, and he uses his long reach very smartly. He throws kicks and punches from outside and then comes inside with brutal elbows to hurt his opponents. Also, he doesn’t mind getting hit by a shot to give his opponent one back. “El Cucuy” is a risk-taker and has a granite chin to support his wild style.

“A lot of the time you’ll see him pressure. He’ll pressure you to the fence and slip over the top with an elbow. What Ferguson does, he gets his elbows. Now that I got his arms tied up, I can spin. And he’s just so crafty when it comes to the elbows.” Cruz added.

One of the most vicious and spectacular aspects of Ferguson’s game is his spinning elbows. He has long arms and big hands. That allows him to get wrist control of his opponents. Once he gets hold of his opponents’ hands, he starts throwing spinning elbows to hurt them. Those elbows slice his opponents wide open and makes them bleed. Also, the damage is too much at times.

What do you make of Dominick Cruz’s excellent breakdown? Can Ferguson use his weapons effectively against Oliveira? Who do you think wins at UFC 256?