Tony Ferguson claims he didn’t train for his fight with Charles Oliveira.
Former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson is currently the owner of one of the longest losing streaks among active UFC fighters. At UFC 274 in May he lost his fourth fight in a row, thanks to a crushing front kick delivered by Michael Chandler.
Prior to that loss, El Cucuy was defeated by Beneil Dariush (unanimous decision), Charles Oliveira (unanimous decision) and Justin Gaethje (TKO). Before those losses, Ferguson owned one of the longest win streaks in the UFC with 12 victories, including wins over Anthony Pettis, Edson Barboza and Rafael dos Anjos.
After his most recent loss, Ferguson received a message of support from former foe Oliveira. Do Bronx even invited Ferguson to come to Brazil to train alongside him at the fabled Chute Boxe gym.
Ferguson turned that offer down, citing his belief that he will be fighting Oliveira again in the future. Recently, the 38-year-old also claimed that he would have beaten Oliveira if he had undertaken a ‘real’ training camp.
Nothing personal, but I really didn’t train anything for Charles. He’s A Good kid who needed a boost. I’ll see him again. Any of them & with real training I win. Khabibi on the other hand would be a fun one the fans would like. pic.twitter.com/vTKnG0wQNb
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) June 3, 2022
After a fan on Twitter asked Ferguson if he’d rather fight Oliveira again or his longtime rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, Ferguson had this to say:
“Nothing personal, but I really didn’t train anything for Charles. He’s a good kid who needed a boost. I’ll see him again. Any of them, and with real training, I win. Khabibi on the other hand would be a fun one for the fans.”
Ferguson and Nurmagomedov were matched up five times, but each time failed to make it to the Octagon together. The fights fell apart for a myriad of reasons, including a botched weight cuts, a serious knee injury and the COVID-19 pandemic.
After he beat Ferguson, Oliveira clinched the vacant UFC lightweight title with a win over Chandler. He then defended the belt against Dustin Poirier. He lost the title on the scales ahead of last month’s UFC 274. Despite being stripped of the title, the Brazilian went on to defeat Justin Gaethje on the night.
It is expected that Oliveira will fight for the vacant UFC lightweight title later this year against an opponent to be determined.