UFC on ABC 7: Michael Chiesa vs. Tony Ferguson Fight Preview

Looking to avoid putting himself in sole position for the longest losing streak in UFC history, Tony Ferguson will move back up to welterweight at UFC on ABC 7 to face Michael Chiesa.

As two of the most iconic winners of The Ultimate Fighter, Ferguson and Chiesa have both been in the UFC for over a decade while competing at the top of their respective divisions. Both fighters began their careers as lightweights, but Chiesa moved up to welterweight in 2018 and found more success before going on his current skid. While Chiesa has lost his last three fights, Ferguson is tied with BJ Penn for the longest losing streak in promotional history with seven straight defeats.

Michael Chiesa vs. Tony Ferguson Tale of the Tape

Michael Chiesa vs. Tony Ferguson Fight Statistics

View the statistics for each fighter as they appear on UFC Stats ahead of their main event meeting at UFC 304:

Michael Chiesa’s Last Fight

All the pressure in this fight will be on Tony Ferguson and his seven-fight losing streak, but a fair amount of strain will also be on Chiesa, who has not won a fight since 2021. ‘The Maverick’ was one fight away from a potential title shot against then-champion Kamaru Usman entering UFC 265 but would be submitted by Vicente Luque. Chiesa would go on to lose his next two outings to put him out of the rankings entirely, including his last loss to Kevin Holland at UFC 291.

Much like the loss to Luque, Chiesa was submitted by Holland by a D’Arce choke in the first round. Despite being a prolific grappler, five of the seven losses in Chiesa’s career have been by submission, including three by D’Arce choke, all in the UFC. Ahead of his matchup with Ferguson, the 36-year-old has not fought in over one year since his loss to Holland.

Tony Ferguson’s Last Fight

When his matchup with Paddy Pimblett was announced for UFC 296, many fans were outraged by the mismatch on paper. Not only was Pimblett 11 years younger than Ferguson, but ‘El Cucuy’ had lost his previous two fights by submission, and ‘The Baddy’ figured to be a much bigger finishing threat than both Bobby Green and Nate Diaz. Ferguson lost the fight as expected but went the distance to lose by decision.

Now on a seven-fight losing streak, Ferguson’s record-setting 12-fight win streak feels like distant history despite recently ending in 2020. Ferguson has not won a fight since that year — a TKO win over Donald Cerrone — and is now one of the oldest active fighters on the UFC roster.

Key Statistics

There are few high-level “specialists” in the UFC in 2024 but Michael Chiesa is one of them. Averaging just 1.87 significant strikes per minute, Chiesa is as pure of a grappler as a fighter can be and will look to take Ferguson down immediately which should not be difficult on paper with the size advantage he figures to have.

On his current losing streak, Ferguson has ceded three or more takedowns twice and eight or more minutes of control time three times. The three primary grapplers he has faced since 2020 — Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush and Paddy Pimblett — all had their way with him on the ground but could not find a way to finish him.

When Chiesa wins, it has been by submission 63 percent of the time, but Ferguson has only been submitted three times in his 35 professional fights. However, two of them have been in his last three fights.