Former UFC Interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson took to social media late on Tuesday night to blast one of his cornerman at UFC 256.  Ferguson was extremely critical of the unnamed cornerman but said that their actions led to a lack of cohesion in-between the rounds of his fight with Charles Oliveira.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJILfE8B1LR/

Make Sure Your Crew Has All The Tools They Need To Get The Job Done Right During Fight Week ✔️
Make Sure Cornermen Know Who Is Appointed Captain/Corner Before Fight. Wait,.. Here We Go.
How About Middle of # UFC256 between 1st-2nd Round Trying To Figure Out Why Your Appointed Cornermen Wasn’t There W/ You Talking Game Plans From Camp. Wtf 🤦‍♂️
Backstage One Of My Trusted Cornermen Lied to the others and said I said it was ok for them to take charge when I was getting changed. Completely Opposite What My Request Was Earlier To The Whole Team. This Person Was barely There At All Pre, & During Fight Week (Hadn’t Reviewed Gameplans Etc. So It Didn’t Make Sense.) As A Team It Was Noted. The Guy Basically bullied the others with seniority behind The scenes & Took position when UFC asked my team who was in charge. They Mic’d him up & there it went.
That person was such a good coach they forgot to bring me water in between rounds.
Thanks Tommy for getting it to me

Ferguson stated that his team was set to go with a lead coach/cornerman who would be in charge of discussing strategy during the fight.  It should be noted, this is the approach most teams take on fight night with the head coach taking charge and the other cornermen following their lead when providing instruction as to efficiently get information to the athlete in the brief time in-between rounds and during the fight.

Per Ferguson, one of his cornermen lied to the others and said that it was okay for him assume the role of lead cornerman despite another member of the team having already been designated to the role ahead of time. This cornerman was reportedly not present for much of the training camp or during fight week and thus was not up to speed on the strategy and game plan that the team had been working on.  Ferguson said that it led to an issue after the first round against Oliveira where he returned to the corner and his appointed lead cornerman was not able to discuss the strategy that they had discussed in camp.

Ferguson went on to say that this cornerman had used his seniority to force himself into the role and took the position when UFC production sought the lead cornerman to mic up for the broadcast.  Though the former champion did not name which individual had forced himself into the role, he did indicate that it was not Tommy Aaron who is a Southern California based fighter who has competed for LFA in the past.  The other two men who were on hand with Ferguson during the fight were former UFC fighter Francisco Rivera Jr and Anthony Murataya Gonzalez.

Immediately after the fight, Ferguson did note that he had put the team together on three weeks’ notice.  It was also noted that he was without longtime Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach Eddie Bravo, a highly scrutinized choice considering Oliveira is one of the best grapplers in the division and is the all-time leader in submissions in the UFC.  “El Cucuy” had also said that he struggled with his time management on fight night, specifically that he did not feel like he had adequately warmed up properly prior to walking out for the fight.

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Following the victory, Dern (10-1), sporting a potentially broken nose, told media outlets that the win made things better. She thought the fight itself “was good, I think I showed a lot of heart.” While Dern has a lot of quick submissions under her belt, she was happy to show that her cardio was strong as well.

“I never actually even got a lot of blood in a fight before,” Dern said of her injury. She heard the nose break, but hoped that “maybe it’s a cut. I’m praying that it’s a cut.” Between rounds, she asked her coach if it was broken, and he insisted it was just a cut. “I know my coach. It was probably broken,” she said with a laugh.

With a 3-0 record inside the octagon in 2020, Mackenzie Dern has now successfully rebounded from the first loss of her career, against Amanda Ribas last year. She actually credits the cornavirus pandemic in part for that. It helped a lot, “because you stay at home, you can’t travel, you can’t do anything. Staying at home having nothing to do, it’s ‘let’s go train, let’s go train.'” Teammates like Chito Vera and Luke Rockhold help with that as well.

“I want to be like them — a champion,” Dern added. Dern joined AKA (American Kickboxing Academy) only recently. It’s a vast difference from her old teams, Black House and the MMA Lab, where she said she was trying to fight both her coaches and herself, mentally. Dern was also playing catch-up after taking time off while pregnant. “I know I needed to catch up with the girls that had kind of passed me. Now I definitely feel like I’m caught up, and I’m trying to put my spot in the top ten and become a title contender.”

Watch the full UFC 256 post-fight press conference with Mackenzie Dern above.

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That was a bit of a theme Saturday night, as featherweight Cub Swanson also secured his second win since a four-fight skid. In the case of Torres, the victory came against promotional newcomer Sam Hughes, a short-notice replacement for ex-Invicta FC champ Angela Hill.

Torres would have liked the affair to have gone a little longer. Instead, it all ended after the first round, with Hughes unable to continue due to an eye injury. End result, a doctor’s stoppage TKO.

“I really did want to go second and third round to get some ring time in, so I was surprised when it was over,” Torres told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. “But looking at her, her eye was full of blood. And she said she couldn’t see out of it. So I understand why they stopped it. But I would have liked to go another two or three rounds, or one or two rounds, I guess.”

During the bout, Torres did notice some of the damage — just not the extent of it. “Her eyes were already bruised up,” said Torres. “But I didn’t notice the redness until I looked her in the eyes afterwards.”

With wins against Briana Van Buren and now Hughes, Torres also addressed the tailspin she’d pulled out of. “It was hard to keep morale up after losing a few fights in a row,” Torres admitted. “After every one, I told myself that I just needed to pick my big girl underwear up and get in there and do it again.”

While the Holidays are fast approaching, Tecia Torres remains game to get back in the octagon soon following Saturday’s win. Noting that she doesn’t walk around heavy, Torres stated that “If I was told tonight I could fight in three or four weeks, I would take the fight. Obviously the more time I have the better but I’m in great shape right now and no injuries. So if the right fight, like the right opportunity was there, I would take it, especially if it was somebody ranked above me.”

Watch the full UFC 256 post-fight press conference with Tecia Torres above.

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Deiveson Figueiredo/Brandon Moreno

When Figueiredo faced off with Alex Perez, both Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval acknowledged that whichever of them were to win their fight that same night might still be behind Cody Garbrandt in line for the next shot. I’m sure most contenders considered the same thing when Moreno got this shot — regardless of the winner, that looming Garbrandt fight seemed on the horizon. Although some might have Garbrandt in line even after the draw, the right move is to run this one back. Moreno showed signs of being the right kind of opponent for Figueiredo and we might as well see who can make the adjustments for the second 25 minutes. It would appear that the UFC agree with this thought too, given Cody Garbradt’s Sunday afternoon tweet.

Their Next Fight: Each Other

Charles Oliveira

Upon shocking the world and absolutely manhandling Tony Ferguson for 15 minutes, Oliviera called for the winner of Conor and Dustin, who square off towards the end of January. However, it’s worth pointing out that Conor fought in January of 2020, and then not again. There’s no reason to leave Do Bronx on the shelf that long. Why not throw him in there with the only other fighter to do that to Ferguson, Justin Gaethje? The fight would be guaranteed fun and it would also help us see if the defensive jiu jitsu of Gaethje has tightened up at all since his last fight.

Charles Oliviera’s Next Fight: Justin Gaethje

Mackenzie Dern

Dern showed some really important facets of her game on Saturday. The most important of them was that she does not need the fight on the ground to take home the win. This opens up a load of possibilities in match-ups that would previously have looked like nightmares. Take Carla Esparza for example. Until Dern showed she is making huge strides in her striking, the wrestler would have seemed like a tough out for Dern. Dern wouldn’t likely take her down, but now they actually might have a fun bout on the feet. While our hope is that this match-up would hit the floor, it would be fun regardless and help shake out the 115lbs picture.

Mackenzie Dern’s Next Fight: Carla Esparza

Kevin Holland

He asked for it. Give it to him.

Khamzat Chimaev has said time and time again that he’ll take all comers in both welterweight and middleweight divisions. Win or lose (or if it doesn’t happen) against Leon Edwards, let him move back up to middleweight to fight Holland. The lead up to it in terms of trash talk would be epic. Neither is ever in a boring fight. There’s just too many boxes that this checks and you could run it any weekend with the way these two are prepared.

Kevin Holland’s Next Fight: Khamzat Chimaev

Cyril Gane

Gane proved that he is a legit threat in the heavyweight division with a KO of Junior dos Santos. His first KO of his UFC career reminded people why they were hyped on him in the first place. Of course, some are writing off the win slightly under the assumption that dos Santos has now been KOed in four straight fights. So why not pair Gane with another fighter coming off a JDS KO? Jair Rozenstruik has been waiting for a bout since he flatlined dos Santos in August. With the log jam at the top of the division, this would help shake out who may be getting their spot in the queue and who will just hang around.

Cyril Gane’s Next Fight: Jair Rozenstruik

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Tony Ferguson

Tony Ferguson’s loss at UFC 256 to Charles Oliveira marks Ferguson’s second straight loss. Losing to number seven ranked Oliveira will probably push Ferguson outside of the top five. His next fight should be against another guy that is currently on a two-fight losing streak. Paul Felder against Tony Ferguson would be one of the most violent fights in UFC history. Tony Ferguson is the kind of guy that needs to be in an ugly fight. Felder is the perfect fighter to give him that fight.

Ferguson’s next fight: Paul Felder 

Virna Jandiroba

Virna Jandiroba lost a decision to Mackenzie Dern at UFC 256. In a crazy back and forth scrap, Dern edged out a win with her precision striking and ground control. Jandiroba’s next fight should be against the Brazilian Gangsta, Livinha Souza. These two were originally set to fight in December of 2019 but the fight fell through. Now that both women are close in the rankings it would be another great time to put this fight together.

Jandiroba’s next fight: Livinha Souza 

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza

Jacare Souza looked great at the beginning of his fight this past weekend against Kevin Holland. He landed a takedown and had control of Holland on the ground. That was before Holland landed a power punch from his back and rocked Souza. Holland jumped up and finished Souza in the first round. This loss puts Souza on a three-fight losing streak, his last win being in November of 2018. Souza is 41 years old so it would not be surprising to see him on the list of fighters being cut before the new year.

Souza’s next fight: Outside the UFC

Junior Dos Santos

Junior Dos Santos was knocked out in the second round by Ciryl Gane at UFC 256. Santos is only 36 years old but is still in a similar position as Souza. Santos is currently on a four-fight losing streak, being knocked out in all four of those losses. There are some good fights for Santos still in the UFC. Although it would seem the UFC is looking to get a little younger so they may not want to give Santos another shot.

Santos’ next fight: Outside the UFC 

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Ahead of the fight, Tucker (13-1) “went dark on social media,” presumably to avoid any distractions. So when asked backstage about the support the fans had shown for Quarantillo ahead of the fight, Tucker wasn’t even aware of it. “I don’t care about this stuff. It doesn’t matter who supports you, my team supports me,” he said ahead of the fight. “I worked my ass off. And I came in fit. And I came in ready. So all this thing about support on social media, stuff like this— I’m just happy I got the win. At the end of the day, it’s about who’s getting the win. So I’m happy I didn’t have to do that job. He built the fight for me. And I just had to do my do my usual business.”

Don’t expect to see Tucker back in the octagon any time soon. While he’s had just five fights since February 2017, “I’m good for every four months,” he stated Saturday. “So there’s going to be a little bit of a rest period.” When he heads home to Canada, Tucker will have to quarantine for two weeks, at the very least.

In terms of a name, he’s down for whatever comes, although Alex Cacares has been brought up to him so many times that the Halifax-based fighter has taken a shine to the idea.

“A lot of people brought up Alex Caceres to the point where I started bringing him up in in interviews, and I think that’d be a fun fight,” he stated. “He’s on a three fight win streak. He’s a southpaw, he’s tall, he moves a lot. So it’d be a different look for me to have to fight this guy. He’s got a good right hook. He has movement. He’s got a lot of experience, right? And I’m just getting my footing on experience.”

“I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way to Alex, I’m a fan,” continued Tucker. “I really think the guy’s a good human, too. So that would be fun. And there’s a long list of other guys as well. But that’s out of my hands.”

Watch the full UFC 256 post-fight press conference with Gavin Tucker above.

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Seven fights. Three years. After crossing over from Muay Thai in 2018, Gane has proven to be quite the prodigy in MMA. He may still hold the prospect label on a technicality due to his low number of fights, but expect Gane to shake that before long.

Mind you, all the hoopla over the win is on the fans’ side. For Gane, it’s just another win. And for good reason. The gravitas of beating JDS, “probably this is something that you understand,” he told media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout. Not so for Ciryl Gane himself. “I don’t know exactly why, maybe because I just started three years ago. Before that, I didn’t know MMA.” Of course, Gane is happy with the win. He’s just not about to break into song.

“I’m really happy to do well,” he said following the fight. “We’ll see [what comes] for the future.” Anyone, anywhere was his suggestion. “I just want to do my job, that’s it.”

Leg kicks were part of the game plan, Gane confirmed. And JDS was able to hurt him, before Gane was able to secure the finish. “Yes. Yes yes yes. He was really aggressive with his right hand. He touched my eyes, I don’t know exactly where, and after, he touched a little bit towards my back [of the head].”

In the end, the victory over Dos Santos at the very least turned the  year around for Gane. He’d struggled to make it to the octagon, seeing multiple fights and opponents fall through. “Every time I said it was a bad year, but now, it’s a good year for me.”

Watch the full UFC 256 post-fight press conference with Ciryl Gane above.

The post UFC 256’s Ciryl Gane: After Numerous Delays, “Now, It’s a Good Year for Me” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Returning from a year-long layoff, Swanson (27-11) earned his second consecutive win in the UFC’s stacked featherweight division. In the process, putting a little distance between himself and the four-fight skid he went on between 2017 and 2019.

His return fight was no walk in the park, mind you. “I knew he was dangerous, I knew it was a dangerous fight to come back to,” Swanson told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight at the UFC Apex on Saturday. Opponent Daniel Pineda might not be a household name to the casual fans — but Swanson knew what he brought to the table. A second-round knockout carries a little more weight than it might otherwise seem, given Pineda’s own veteran status.

It’s been a long road to get to this point for Cub Swanson. “It’s 2020. Everyone’s feeling it,” he noted. For his part, Swanson was feeling it “just from having to do rehab, five days a week, wearing a mask. All kinds of people are complaining about having to wear them, I had to wear them while doing crazy cardio.”

Financially, Swanson wasn’t making any money while on the shelf. There was the added concern of keeping his training partners, and kids, safe from COVID-19. “It was a tough journey. It was a crazy year. And I’m pretty proud to be here right now.”

Then there was the hit his confidence took earlier this week. “This journey is crazy. It’s a it’s a roller coaster for all of us. And sometimes, you’re full of confidence, and sometimes you’re not,” admitted Swanson. “That four or five [fight] losing streak really made it difficult for me and basically I decided to, mentally, be a part time fighter and a part time dad. Realistically full time of each. But I wanted to do that at this point in my life, and I wanted to take that on.”

When the losing streak hit, however, Swanson had to question himself about whether he was still on the right track, or whether he was done. “Are you just not that good anymore? Or is it really you just got to figure it out? And I just felt deep down, I needed to figure it out. And I feel like these last two fights, even though they’re far apart, I’ve really showed that I’ve made improvements. I’m still one of the best. And I know people still enjoy watching me fight, and I still love doing it.”

Being injured — Swanson has been off a year thanks to ACL surgery — was actually a blessing in disguise, he added, “because I had to really think about all the things that made me great as a fighter. And kind of get back to that.”

With two wins under his belt, split by the year-long layoff, the question now becomes whether Swanson is ready for a run at the UFC’s featherweight title. He has always seemed to be on the cusp of greatness, after all. Stunning performances, but he’s never had his shot at gold.

“It’s not really a concern of mine,” Swanson said, dismissing the title talk. “If they ever want to give me a title fight, I’ll take it. But I’m not gonna try to climb that ladder, and I’ll just I fight whoever they tell me. Whoever they think is a good match-up.” That’s how Cub Swanson has always done it, he explained. “They literally used to say, ‘Hey, this guy’s a stud. We want you to fight them. There’s a lot of hype we want. We want to see you fight this guy.’ Okay. That’s how I’ve always done it. I think there’s a lot of stress on trying to vie for the title. I just like to go in there and put on performances for the fans, and get bonuses and do things like that.”

Watch the full UFC 256 post-fight press conference with Cub Swanson above.

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That might be a little bit of an exaggeration, as Ferguson still managed to show ample heart, gutting his way out of submission attempts on what seemed like sheer will power alone. But as a fighter, he looked just like any other against Oliveira, the man who holds the UFC’s all-time submission record.

“It’s what we predicted. He was a champion, he’s a very tough guy. We expected to go in there and have a great fight like that,” Oliveira (30-8, 1NC) told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight.

“Do Bronx” believed that he had broken Ferguson’s arm during a submission attempt in the opening round. “But I wanted to win. We had a game plan set, and I wanted to win at any cost.” The arm, if it was broken, didn’t stop Ferguson from finishing the fight. Oliveira, however, was the clear winner.

Over the past year or two, something has definitely changed in the decade-long veteran of the octagon. Oliveira appears more confident, and he’s now put together an eight-fight win streak with seven finishes.

In way of explanation, the Chute Box fighter said that “after my daughter was born, my mindset just changed completely. I’m here to be the champ. I train at Chute Box, the best striking team in the world. My coaches were saying ‘you get beat up so much in the gym that it’s not big deal.'” With that newfound confidence, especially on the feet, Oliveira has looked like a different fighter. And when his coach told him that a Ferguson cross had landed during Saturday’s bout, Oliveira realized that “I didn’t even feel it.”

“Every training session [at Chute Box] is a fight,” he added. “It’s different than anywhere else.”

Now, Oliveira is ready to move on to the next level. Which would mean fighting for gold. And he’s not expecting lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov to return, although the UFC itself has been hesitant to officially acknowledge the Dagestani fighter’s retirement following UFC 254.

“Khabib swore on his father’s grave that he wasn’t going to come back. When a man does that, I don’t think he’s going to come back,” observed Oliveira. Then there’s Justin Gaethje, who at times has been rumored for a match-up with Bellator champ Michael Chandler. “Gaethje can go fight whoever, but I want to fight the winner of Conor [McGregor] and [Dustin] Poirier. I have eight wins in a row. Seven of those, I finished the fight. I don’t let it go to the judges’ hands. I finish fights, and I deserve [it], I’m in the position to be fighting for the belt.”

McGregor vs. Poirier 2 headlines UFC 257 next month. The winner of that fight would also be in a very good position to challenge for gold.

Asked whether the win over Ferguson means more to him now, after a decade in the UFC, Oliveira stated that “I think everything happens at the right time. It’s whatever God wants to happen.” His fight with Ferguson is the perfect example. “This is a guy that everyone calls the Boogeyman. And we went in there, and we had an amazing fight. I’ve been telling everyone I’m going to be the champion, people don’t believe it, so I have to show them.”

If Khabib is deemed retired by the time McGregor vs. Poirier 2 rolls around, there’s always the possibility that their fight becomes a title affair. Or winds up having an interim belt slapped on it. In any case, when the idea of serving as a backup fighter was suggested to him, Oliveira replied “Dana [White, UFC President], just call my manager if you want me to fill in.”

Watch the full UFC 256 post-fight press conference with Charles Oliveira above.

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At UFC 256, the 28-year old Holland turned that dream — a nightmare, really — on its head. On his back early in the opening round, Holland managed to fire off a punch that rocked the Brazilian. Holland made his way back to his feet, still throwing as he did so. Souza crumpled under the onslaught.

“I’m happy that it worked out, but I hate that it had to be Jacare that I did like that,” Holland (21-5) told media outlets including Cageside Press following the win.

The win over the legend gives Holland five victories in the 2020, tying the record for wins in a calendar year. It also gave Holland his third Performance of the Night bonus in that stretch. So is he the Fighter of the Year? Holland said it all came down to the UFC 256 main event.

“If [Deiveson Figueiredo] goes out there and gets the job done, he’s Fighter of the Year,” exclaimed Holland. “If he somehow, some way doesn’t get the job done, which would be a little weird to me because I think he should win— then yeah, I’m Fighter of the Year. Nobody else did this.” While Holland in essence admitted that at times, his competition wasn’t at he same level, “it’s not my fault that everybody that I was originally scheduled to fight caught COVID, got sick or caught cramps inside their little va-jay-jay and just couldn’t pull up. It’s not my fault.”

Of course, Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno fought to a draw in the UFC 256 main event. In the Fight of the Night, and a potential Fight of the Year candidate. It’s a close race, in other words.

Looking forward, Holland offered that after five wins in 2020, “I’m a company, man, whatever they want me to do, I’m here to do.” So should the UFC want him to fight next week, “I’ll fight next week. They want me to fight in a couple months, I’ll fight a couple months. Whatever they want me to do, that’s what I’m here to do. Ultimately, I love my job.”

One name that continues to interest Holland is Khamzat Chimaev, who like Holland has built a reputation as a fighter who stays busy. Although that’s a claim Holland disputes. “He doesn’t have a reputation for fighting all the time. That’s just what all the casuals think, that he fights all the time,” exclaimed Holland. “He fought three times this year, two times against bums and then another time against Gerald Meerschaert. Gerald Meerschaert is not a bum. But he was coming off a knockout. [Chimaev] hasn’t beat anybody in the UFC with a win, but at the same time, he’s a good ticket for the UFC.”

Watch the full UFC 256 post-fight press conference with Kevin Holland above.

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