Ferguson: Oliveira ‘Mentally Broke’ In First Round

If you think Charles Oliveira dominated Tony Ferguson in their UFC 256 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event last weekend in Las Vegas, then clearly you have an untrained eye, just like those clueless judges working for the state athletic commission.

In fact, “Do Bronx” was mentally broken by the end of the first round.

That’s according to “El Cucuy,” who reviewed the footage of his unanimous decision loss on Instagram Live, explaining to his followers that everything taking place inside the cage was part of his master plan.

“We’re not gonna waste any energy here, and you guys shouldn’t either in jiu-jitsu matches,” Ferguson said (transcribed by MMA Fighting). “Just be patient and wait for the opportunity for him to advance and get so lazy that in the third round he doesn’t even advance to mount anymore. What he does is he stays controlled into side position looking for something completely different, a different move because he was mentally broken in the first round.”

Ferguson, who turns 37 in February, has now lost back-to-back fights after previously coming up short against Justin Gaethje back in May. As for his Oliveira fight, “El Cucuy” was both outstruck and outgrappled from bell to bell.

“I went back and kind of watched film, and without the commentary and how all like, ‘Oh, you got dominated, this and that.’ Okay, to the untrained people in jiu-jitsu,” Ferguson said. “Advancing positions in traditional styles of martial arts, you will get points, advantages, and different types of points. But the judging and the contesting as far as the commission, I don’t even know if it’s there. I’m gonna be real, I don’t.”

In defeat, Ferguson (25-5) dropped to No. 4 in the official rankings.