A co-main event like Tony Ferguson vs. Charles Oliveira is one of those battles you wish the UFC would bend the rules for, just for one night, and make it a five round fight.
Any time Tony Ferguson steps into the Octagon, you can feel the excitement surrounding not just his fight but the entire card — and UFC 256 was no different. “El Cucuy” looked to get back into the win column Saturday, and begin his return to the top of the lightweight division after his devastating loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249. Ferguson came so close to having a shot at finally going up against the man who many have as a dream opponent for Ferguson, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Only to have it slip away like it has so many times before.
Charles Oliveira, the man with the most submission wins in the UFC history (14), knew a fight with a dangerous top opponent would be what was needed on his resume to fight for UFC gold one day. Riding an seven-fight win streak into UFC 256, Oliveira had the skills, and was looking to force a changing of the guard at the top of the division.
When it came down to it, Charles Oliveira did what many opponents that had fought Tony Ferguson previously couldn’t do. That was to control Ferguson from beginning to end with submission attempts and ground control that showed sheer dominance. Charles Oliveira made a statement at UFC 256: he is ready for title contention after this performance.
See how the pros reacted to Tony Ferguson vs. Charles Oliveira below.
I’m very impressed! Wow DOMINATION FROM @CharlesDoBronxs #ufc256
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) December 13, 2020
@CharlesDoBronxs Looked amazing tonight🙏🏼👏🏼😍 @ufc
— Amanda Ribas (@amandaribasufc) December 13, 2020
That was an incredibly performance from Oliveira 🤯#UFC256
— Jordan Leavitt (@jojo_monkeyking) December 13, 2020
What a great performance from #DoBronx 🇧🇷
Que performance 👏🏼👏🏼— Arianelipski (@Ariane_lipski) December 13, 2020
@CharlesDoBronxs jiujitsu is light years ahead of Tony tonight
— Sijara SarJ Eubanks (@SarJnCharge) December 13, 2020
Tony’s arm 🤯 #UFC256
— Anthony Pettis (@Showtimepettis) December 13, 2020
He didn’t tap 😵 #ufc256
— Max Griffin (@MaxPainGriffin) December 13, 2020
He did NOT tap!!!! #ufc256
— Emil Valhalla Meek (@emilvalhalla) December 13, 2020
Olivera looked really freaking good. #ufc256
— Niko Price (@Nikohybridprice) December 13, 2020
Wow! Talk about saved by the bell @ufc Ferguson vs Olivera rnd 1. @ufc #ufc256
— Julia Avila (@RagingPandaMMA) December 13, 2020
Nobody is surprised Tony didn’t tap. What kind of question is that Joe? 🤣 #UFC256
— Tatiana Suarez (@tatianaufc) December 13, 2020
Incredible performance
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) December 13, 2020
Oliveira looks amazing tonight. He’s shown so much growth since those big losses to Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson. Very impressive how he’s been winning and how well he’s competing tonight. #UFC256
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) December 13, 2020
