Ferguson was knocked out cold for the first time in his professional career.
Tony Ferguson had no memory of his second-round knockout loss to Michael Chandler at UFC 274 this past Saturday.
Ferguson returned after a year away from competition and was slept for the first time in his professional career, courtesy of a front kick to the jaw by ‘Iron’ Mike. The former UFC interim lightweight champion was out for several minutes but soon regained consciousness and left the Octagon on his own. He was transported to a local hospital and released once his CT scans were negative.
‘El Cucuy’ responded to his loss to the former Bellator champ on social media and wrote that he had ‘lots of fun’ in their fight. However, he recently revealed that he did go through a not-so-fun experience with temporary memory loss in its immediate aftermath.
“I took a big kick to the dome this past Saturday inside that Octagon. It put me out for a long time,” wrote Ferguson on Instagram. “It was a scary feeling not remembering anything from beginning of second round all the way until I walked up to the ambulance. I thank God every day I made the trip back to reality.
“All jokes aside, I didn’t mean to scare you all, should have done things different like keep my ‘hands up and chin down’. My fault I lost, props to Chandler for the highlight reel [sic] finish. I have many things to work on, not just competing. One battle at a time.”
Ferguson was also grateful that he sustained little to no damage from the fight, having visited with a doctor who gave him an all-clear on any potential broken bones. The 38-year-old still received a 60-day medical suspension from the Arizona Boxing and MMA Commission for the knockout loss.
“I’m beyond grateful my movements are OK, my bones are intact and except for a slight headache in the mornings, I’m glad to be back and doing what I love,” continued Ferguson. “I want to be better than yesterday for sure, not for anyone else but for me.”
Ferguson suffered his fourth consecutive loss on Saturday night. The No. 10 ranked lightweight lost to Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush in his previous appearances.