Morning Report: Tony Ferguson releases statement following sixth straight loss at UFC 291

The descent of Tony Ferguson has been tough to watch.

UFC 291 has come and gone, delivering another eventful night in Salt Lake City with nearly a dozen finishes. Unfortunately for the one-time interim lightweight champion Ferguson, he was on the receiving end of one of them.

Ferguson’s main card clash with Bobby “King” Green followed a brilliant performance from Kevin Holland against a returning Michael Chiesa that was capped off with a first-round d’arce choke. Holland’s win was the fourth submission pulled off on the card and between the lightweight veterans, Ferguson was the one to engage in grappling early with a nice takedown. Outside of that and a brief knockdown, Ferguson’s success was minimal and a nasty eye poke appeared to hinder his vision. “El Cucuy” ultimately succumbed to a third-round arm-triangle choke in the waning seconds of the bout, resulting in his sixth consecutive loss. Ferguson, 39, took to Instagram on Sunday to address the outcome and his future.

Walked into the Delta Center to show the world I was back on track. The preparation for this fight was exceptional & it was one of the best camps I’ve had.

As the fight began, I was in the Xone, flowing & feeling confident. Bobby knew the direction of the fight & I believe he knew what he was doing when he poked my eye. He has a big History of moves like this. It significantly impaired my vision, making it difficult to see clearly out of my eye. Despite this eye poke I never considered stopping the fight. Although the doc wanted too. Throughout my career, I’ve always pushed through challenges & never given up This time was no different.

Unfortunately in sports, setbacks like this are part of the journey While I won’t use the eye poke as an excuse for the outcome, I know for a fact I have more to give.

Moving forward, I plan to work closely with Dana, Hunter & my entire team to assess what’s next.

I’d like to take a moment to say thank you to my Wife, my Family & my Fans. Your support means the world to me & it’s what drives me to keep pushing forward & striving for greatness. Thank you all for being by my side through the highs & lows of this sport that I love. Eye appointment tomorrow, some recovery & back after it. Love you all- Champ -CSO- #ufc291 Salt Lake City, Utah #AyMoe WooWooWooWoo Knyuck knyuck knyuck #ballsofsteel #FuckEm’IfTheyCantTakeAJoke

The loss was Ferguson’s ninth of his career, making him 25-9 overall. Once on a historic run in his division with 12 straight wins, Ferguson’s current stretch never could have been predicted ahead of his May 2020 interim title tilt vs. Justin Gaethje. That fight is often considered the start of Ferguson’s decline after a handful of injuries and canceled Khabib Nurmagomedov matchups led to that moment. Since then, Gaethje has only ascended, winning the BMF title in his Dustin Poirier rematch in the UFC 291 main event.

Beginning his career in 2008, it’s unknown how many fights Ferguson has left on his contract with the UFC. However, should he get another fight with the promotion and suffer a loss, he would tie BJ Penn’s record for the longest losing streak at seven.

Fallout. UFC 291: Seven biggest takeaways from a wild night in Salt Lake City

Kick. Dustin Poirier reacts to shocking knockout loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 291: ‘I got hit with a shot I just didn’t see’

FA. Derrick Lewis felt ‘a lot of pressure’ at UFC 291, hopes to re-sign with promotion

Declined. Justin Gaethje responds to Conor McGregor: ‘I’m not going to fight someone on steroids’

Prediction. Alex Pereira sees Israel Adesanya trilogy at middleweight instead of light heavyweight

Next. KSI vs. Tommy Fury booked for boxing match on Oct. 14 in Manchester, England

Judging. Jan Blachowicz claims robbery in UFC 291 loss to Alex Pereira: ‘Bunch of thieves’

Drama. Pitbull brothers accuse ‘coward’ Kleber Koike of invading locker room, kicking Patricky from behind

Upset. Super RIZIN 2 results: Chihiro Suzuki scores shocking knockout of Patricio Pitbull, Juan Archuleta wins title

Lightweight. Conor McGregor erupts after UFC 291: ‘I’m real BMF, ‘f*** Chandler,’ Michael Chandler responds

UFC 291 Post-Show.

On To the Next One.

UFC 291 Post-Fight Presser.

UFC 292 Trailer.

Finishes from Bellator’s portion Super RIZIN 2.

Super RIZIN 2 aftermath.

A PFL Fight Camp.

Reactions.

Gaethje’s head kick knockout anatomy.

The Khamzat tour.

Cooking with Bo.

Izzy.

Insanity.

And new.

Accurate.

Championship savagery.

Rebound-bound.

Oh.

Never heard that one before…

Truth.

You love to see it.

Bob.

Camaraderie.

A lot to unpack.

Sunshine.

Typical grappler.

Commentary squad.

Jiri!

Vintage.

Never safe around these guys.

Drew Dober (26-12, 1 NC) vs. Ricky Glenn (22-7-2); UFC Vegas 80, Oct. 7

Juntaro Ushiku (22-10-1) vs. Kyohei Hagiwara (7-7); RIZIN 44, Sept. 24

Vitor Petrino (9-0) vs. Modestas Bukauskas (15-5); UFC Sao Paulo, Nov. 4

Thanks for reading!

Last Week’s Results:

Friday: 83% of 464 total votes answered “Yes” when asked, “Will Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje 2 be a fight of the year contender?”

Thursday: 61% of 454 total votes answered “Alex Pereira” when asked, “Who wins this weekend?” Pereira defeated Jan Blachowicz via split decision in UFC 291’s co-main event.

Wednesday: 85% of 442 total votes answered “Justin Gaethje” when asked, “Which fight would you prefer for Max Holloway at lightweight?”

Tuesday: 47% of 421 total votes answered “Jake Paul” when asked, “Which potential Jorge Masvidal boxing match are you most interested in?”

Monday: 61% of 634 total votes answered “Dustin Poirier” when asked, “Who wins this weekend?” Gaethje defeated Poirier via second-round knockout (head kick) in UFC 291’s main event.

Today’s exit poll:

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.