"It took a full pandemic for me to lose" - Tony Ferguson took Charles Oliveira fight to get his team paid amid COVID-19
Tony Ferguson has revealed that he wasn't fully prepared to fight Charles Oliveira at UFC 256. Ferguson and Oliveira shared the octagon in December 2020 when 'do Bronx' picked up a dominant unanimous decision win against 'El Cucuy'.
The 38-year-old stated that he wasn't preparing for a fight then and only took the bout to get his team paid during the COVID-19 pandemic. He claimed that the pandemic was a big part of the reason why he suffered a disappointing loss to the Brazilian fighter.
During an interaction with Helen Yee, Tony Ferguson said he met Oliveira recently and told him that he couldn't even find time to practice jiu-jitsu ahead of their fight. The Brazilian is known for his grappling and if Ferguson wasn't prepared to deal with his ground game, it likely did affect him in the fight. 'El Cucuy' said:
"It took a full pandemic for me to lose. I even told Oliveira, I saw him yesterday and I told him and his coach in Spanish, I was like, 'I didn't even prepare jiu-jitsu for you.' I was like, 'I just took a fight just because and I brought in a lot of people just to get them paid because it was during the pandemic so imagine if I have a real fight."
Watch the interview below:
Tony Ferguson believes he'll meet Charles Oliveira inside the octagon again
Oliveira had offered to train with Ferguson and help him prepare for his upcoming fights but 'El Cucuy' turned him down. Ferguson believes he'll cross paths with the Brazilian fighter inside the octagon in the future. He doesn't want to expose his strengths and weaknesses by training with 'do Bronx' on a regular basis.
We're among big dogs, up&downs are part of our jorneys. I admire you a lot @tonyfergusonxt. You've the history inside the Octagon. Head up "El Cucuy"!
If you wish, let's train together in ChuteBoxe's hedquarter in São Paulo for your nxt fight. You're a brother!
#UFC https://t.co/hNyd4wbLZd
While Tony Ferguson respects Charles Oliveira, he believes he'd have beaten 'do Bronx' had he managed to train properly for the fight:
"Nothing personal, but I really didn’t train anything for Charles. He’s A Good kid who needed a boost. I’ll see him again. Any of them & with real training I win."
He’s A Good kid who needed a boost. I’ll see him again. Any of them & with real training I win. Khabibi on the other hand would be a fun one the fans would like. 
@Mahfuz00745995 Nothing personal, but I really didn’t train anything for Charles. 📠 He’s A Good kid who needed a boost. I’ll see him again. Any of them & with real training I win. Khabibi on the other hand would be a fun one the fans would like. 💯 https://t.co/vTKnG0wQNb
In his most recent fight, Tony Ferguson was brutally knocked out by Michael Chandler in the second round of their lightweight scrap at UFC 274. Ferguson has hinted that he is considering a change in weight class moving forward and could compete as a welterweight next.
He's rumored to be a coach on the upcoming season of UFC's The Ultimate Fighter series opposite Khabib Nurmagomedov.