There are questions about Tony Ferguson heading into his UFC 256 co-main event matchup opposite Charles Oliveira. Most of those questions stem from how his most recent fight, an interim title scrap opposite Justin Gaethje, ended.
MMA is the ultimate “what have you done for me lately” sport. Before the loss to Gaethje, Ferguson had won 12 consecutive fights in the UFC’s lightweight division. Despite that, the brutal beating Gaethje doled out in May — the fight ended with a fifth-round TKO win for Gaethje — has left the soon to be 37-year-old Ferguson with a huge question mark hanging over his head.
Current lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov told ESPN, “Nobody can be the same for a long time — one day, somebody gonna beat you, something gonna happen, God doesn’t give nobody the power, reaction, mental, one level, always. One day you’re going to go down and his day come. It was May. Tony Ferguson is finished now. He’s gonna come back, and someone gonna beat him again, I believe. Because when you take damage like this, you’ll never going to be the same. Never. Even if you’re Tony Ferguson.”
Ferguson gets the chance to prove his doubters wrong on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas when he faces Oliveira, who hopes a win over the former interim champion will earn him a shot at the UFC 155-pound belt.
“Winning this fight I’ll be the next challenger, no doubt,” Oliveira told MMA Fighting. “Seven wins in a row at the moment. It will be eight after this, and I don’t plan on leaving it in the judges’ hands. It will be eight finishes in a row. There’s no way I have to wait. I’m the next challenger.”
Oliveira has won his past seven fights and is coming off a March submission win over Kevin Lee. All seven of those victories have come by way of stoppage. The Lee fight was the first time Oliveira went to the third round during that stretch of victories, which began in 2018 with a first-round submission win over Clay Guida.
Before UFC 256 takes place at UFC Apex, here are some facts, stats and numbers for Ferguson vs. Oliveira.
UFC 256 Preview: Facts, stats and numbers for Tony Ferguson vs. Charles Oliveira
| Tony Ferguson | Charles Oliveira |
|---|---|
| Tony Ferguson | Charles Oliveira |
| Ferguson is tied for seventh in UFC lightweight history in wins with 14 | |
| Ferguson is tied for third in UFC lightweight history in finishes with 10 | |
| Ferguson is tied for fifth in UFC lightweight history in submission wins with six | Oliveira ranks second in UFC lightweight history in submission wins with eight |
| Ferguson is tied for first in UFC lightweight history with a 12-fight winning streak | Oliveira is tied for the fifth longest winning streak in UFC lightweight history at seven |
| Ferguson is tied for fifth in UFC lightweight history with 10 fight-night bonuses | Oliveira is toed for fifth in UFC lightweight history with 10 fight-night bonuses |
| Ferguson ranks third in UFC lightweight history in significant strikes landed with 1,051 | |
| Ferguson ranks seventh in UFC lightweight history in significant strikes landed per minute with 5.81 | |
| Ferguson ranks eighth in UFC lightweight history in striking differential at plus 1.75 | |
| Oliveira ranks second in UFC lightweight history in shortest average fight time at 5:15 | |
| Oliveira is tied for ninth in UFC lightweight history with 16 submission attempts | |
| Oliveira ranks fourth in UFC lightweight history with 3.27 submission average per 15 minutes | |
| Ferguson ranks second in significant strikes landed in a UFC lightweight fight with 199 vs. Rafael dos Anjos in November 2016 | |
| Ferguson ranks second in significant strikes attempted in a UFC lightweight fight with 401 vs. Rafael dos Anjos in November 2016 | |
| Ferguson ranks second in distance strikes landed in a UFC lightweight fight with 196 vs. Rafael dos Anjos in November 2016 | |
| Ferguson ranks fourth in leg kicks landed in a UFC lightweight fight with 45 vs. Rafael dos Anjos in November 2016 | |
| Ferguson ranks 10th in leg kicks landed in a UFC lightweight fight with 36 vs. Justin Gaethje in May 2020 | |
| Ferguson ranks eighth in total strikes landed in a UFC lightweight fight with 200 vs. Rafael dos Anjos in November 2016 | |
| Ferguson ranks third in total strikes attempted in a UFC lightweight fight with 402 vs. Rafael dos Anjos in November 2016 | |
| Oliveira ranks seventh in fastest submission in a UFC lightweight fight at 0:41 vs. Darren Elkins in August 2010 |
About the author
