Even in his difficult to watch UFC 249 defeat to Justin Gaethje in May, former interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson had his moments. Tonight, however, the Oxnard native ran into a blockade at each turn, with Charles ‘Do Bronx’ Oliveira comfortably taking a massive, career-best performance on his way to a unanimous decision victory.
Scoring a takedown in the opening-round, Oliveira even enjoyed the lion share of the striking exchanges, and spent the remainder of the round in control. The Brazilian even almost submitted the 36-year-old with a taut armbar before the buzzer, with Ferguson’s left arm extremely hyper-extended.
In the second-round, it was more of the same for the Diego Lima Chute Boxe trainee, as he controlled Ferguson on the top and in the scrambles, threatening with a triangle to boot. Ferguson’s sole notable impact came in the form of a slashing elbow as he admirably defended a takedown.
A rallying effort eluded Ferguson, as Oliveira once more controlled the former interim champion from the top. Stretching his winning spree to an incredible eight consecutively, Oliveira notched the biggest win of his career to date — and surely inserts himself into lightweight title contention.
Below, check out the highlights from Oliveira’s dominant, one-sided 30-26 (x3) victory over Ferguson.