The man who is responsible for one of the greatest runs in UFC history, Tony Ferguson will compete again at UFC 291 and look to snap his five-fight skid. He takes on Bobby Green in an attempt to pick up his first victory since 2019 when he defeated Donald Cerrone via doctors stoppage. This win extended his winning run to 12 and set him up for an interim title bout with the UFC 291 headliner, Justin Gaethje.
Unwanted Run of Form
Behind closed doors at UFC 249, Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje met in the main event for a chance to become the interim lightweight champion and have a shot at the reigning champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Many believed that Ferguson would yet again be booked to face Khabib, however, it wasn’t to be. Despite dropping Gaethje, Ferguson’s streak was broken, losing via a dominant TKO in the fifth round.
He would go on to face future champion, Charles Oliveira and perennial contender, Beneil Daruish, but both fights showed that his defensive wrestling and defensive ground game were possibly not as good as fans and expects originally thought. Both fights went the full 15-minutes, however, Ferguson was controlled for a total of 23:54 across both fights, losing both dominantly.
He then was matched with Michael Chandler in a fight that had many fans salivating, however, although he had a very strong first round against the all-action Chandler, he was on the receiving end of one of the greatest UFC knockouts of all time. A front-kick to the face separated Ferguson from consciousness and provided fans with a shocking outcome to the fight.
UFC 279 Debarcle
UFC 279 would be the first time that Ferguson would step up in weight to 170lbs since he had won TUF in 2011. He was scheduled to take on Li Jingliang, looking for a career revival at welterweight, however, Ferguson would end up facing Nate Diaz in the PPV main event. Diaz’s original opponent, Khamzat Chimaev would miss weight by a considerable margin, forcing the UFC to pull him out of the bout. Ferguson lost the fight via guillotine in the fourth round.
The fight itself was strange, it was two UFC legends, way past their prime, seemingly happy to be in the PPV main event having a glorified spar.
UFC 291
UFC 291 will mark Tony Ferguson’s 34th professional fight and between him and his opponent on the night, Bobby Green they have a combined 78 professional bouts. Green favours a Philly-shell boxing style, wanting to keep things on the feet and utilise his knockout power.
Ferguson is far more well-rounded, enjoys the kicking game, can mix in elbows and takedowns when necessary.
Like Ferguson, Green is out of form. He’s won just two of his last seven, losing two and drawing one of his last three.
Both men are in desperate need of a win, which makes this fight extremely interesting.
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