Eddie Bravo, the jiu-jitsu coach of former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson says his fighter is already back in training despite suffering a brutal beatdown at the hands of Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 last weekend.
Ferguson was originally set to fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed lightweight championship at UFC 249 on April 18. The undefeated Russian was forced off the card due to travel issues and was replaced by Gaethje. The fight was then postponed and instead took place on May 9 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
In the fight, Gaethje dominated from start to finish. ‘The Highlight’ landed countless power punches on ‘El Cucuy’ who displayed immense bravery and a great chin. Ultimately referee Herb Dean stepped in and waved off the fight in the fifth and final round, although many believe he or Ferguson’s corner should have stopped the fight sooner.
Since the fight, Ferguson appears to be in good spirits. He has been posting positive messages on social media and was even seen dancing as he recovered from his injuries in the hospital.
Speaking on a recent episode of Joe Rogan’s Fight Companion podcast Bravo of 10th Planet Jui-Jitsu revealed despite what UFC president Dana White and some others believe, Ferguson’s loss was nothing to do with back-to-back weight cuts, he said.
“I talked to Tony yesterday and he said it had nothing to do with the weight. The loss had nothing to do with his weight… Justin just fought an awesome fight man.”
Bravo went on to tell of his surprise at how well Ferguson is handling this loss. The lightweight contender is content and already back in training for his next fight.
“He’s already training, he was training today,” Bravo said, He’s ready to go back. It gave me chills listening to him last night. His champ shit only, that’s in his losses too. He’s like listen ‘everyone in the world is suffering financially and I got to go in there and make a whole bunch of money and my family is secure, so I lost technically but I won in life.’”
Former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub asked the renowned BJJ coach why he and the Ferguson corner didn’t throw in the towel, as it’s something he would have done in the later rounds.
“That crossed my mind but I never would have done it,” Bravo responded. “I have never been a head MMA coach ever in my life and never wanted to be, never wanted to be, and even to this day that’s not me.”
Are you excited to see Tony Ferguson fight again after hearing Eddie Bravo say he’s already back in training?