Michael Chiesa submits Tony Ferguson early at UFC on ABC 7
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us today, August 3, 2024, for UFC on ABC 7, going down live from the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Headlining the event is a bantamweight bout between no. 2 ranked Cory Sandhagen (17-4) and no. 10 ranked Umar Nurmagomedov (17-0).
Co-headlining the event is a middleweight clash between a pair of knockout artists in Shara Magomedov (13-0) and Michal Oleksiejczuk (19-8).
Our first feature fight of the evening came in the welterweight division between TUF 13 winner (3-0 on the show), former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson (25-11) and TUF 15 winner (4-0 on the show) Michael Chiesa (19-7).
Ferguson, following a 12-fight win streak from 2013 to 2019, came in today on a seven-fight losing skid.
Chiesa on the other hand, following a 4-0 run to begin his tenure up at 170 lbs, came in today on a three-fight losing streak himself.
These two were scheduled to headline UFC Fight Night 91 opposing one another back in 2016 before Chiesa was forced to withdraw due to a back injury. Ferguson instead faced a debuting Lando Vannata on short notice that night. Finally, eight years later we got to see these two face off inside the octagon.
Continue reading to see how this welterweight affair went down:
Official Result: Michael Chiesa def. Tony Ferguson via submission (rear naked choke) at 3:44 of round one
Ferguson opened up the bout with a leg kick, doing his best to control the center as the two settled into the fight.
Chiesa changed levels midway through the opening round and secured a body lock before quickly taking the former interim champion’s back and locking up the body triangle. He immediately went for Ferguson’s neck, eventually readjusting before submitting the BJJ black belt.
Michael Chiesa submits Tony Ferguson #UFCAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/nnWFALDiYx
— TakeruCigarra (@TakeruCigarra) August 3, 2024
Tony Ferguson has had a truly special, remarkable career, and it’s arguable he’s the unluckiest fighter in UFC history. He wasn’t given the fair shake he was so deserving of for years and years there and it’s one of the bigger tragedies in our beloved sports history.
‘El Cucuy’ began his UFC tenure claiming The Ultimate Fighter 13 trophy with his win over fellow finalist Ramsey Nijem (KO) in 2011. He would go on to win his next two over Aaron Riley (TKO) and Yves Edwards (UD) before suffering his first octagon defeat to Michael Johnson (UD), a fight he broke his arm in.
Following that defeat and injury he’d return a year and a half later and go on to win his next 12-straight, defeating the likes of Mike Rio (D’Arce choke), Katsunori Kikuno (KO), Danny Castillo (SD), Abel Trujillo (rear naked choke), Gleison Tibau (rear naked choke), Josh Thomson (UD), Edson Barboza (D’Arce choke), Lando Vannata (D’Arce choke), Rafael dos Anjos (UD), Kevin Lee (triangle choke) where he claimed the interim title, Anthony Pettis (TKO), and Donald Cerrone (TKO), making it to 15-1 across 16 octagon appearances.
Since then, however and following his fifth cancelled bout with then UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nuramgomedov, Ferguson has lost eight-straight to the likes of Justin Gaethje (TKO), Charles Oliveira (UD), Beneil Dariush (UD), Michael Chandler (KO), Nate Diaz (guillotine choke), Bobby Green (arm-triangle choke), Paddy Pimblett (UD), and now Michael Chiesa (rear naked choke).
After being stripped of his interim title Ferguson was forced to take two more fights, winning both, and due to Covid-19 he was unable to finally face Nurmagomedov, the fight we all needed to see as both were on 12-fight win streaks at the time, and instead took a fight with Gaethje in attempt to win a second interim belt.
Ferguson took off his gloves and put one down on the mat following his defeat today, signifying this may be the end, though he did say he was going to talk with his family and see what’s next.
If this is it, thank you ‘El Cucuy’ for the memories, you gave us so many of them.
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