Tony Ferguson issues statement following loss to Bobby Green at UFC 291: “I believe he knew what he was doing when he poked my eye”

Tony Ferguson has issued a statement following his submission loss to Bobby Green at last night’s UFC 291 event.

Ferguson (25-9 MMA) and Green (30-14-1 MMA) collided on the main card of last night’s pay-per-view event in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Tony Ferguson had entered the contest with hopes of snapping his five-fight losing skid. ‘El Cucuy’ was coming off a submission loss to Nate Diaz in his most previous effort back at UFC 279. The 39-year-old veteran was looking to earn his first victory since June of 2019, when he defeated Donald Cerrone by way of TKO.

Meanwhile, Bobby Green was also looking to return to the win column when he took to the Octagon at last night’s event in Salt Lake City. ‘King’ had previously competed back in April of this year, where his bout with Jared Gordon was ruled a no-contest due to an accidental clash of heads. Prior to that, the 36-year-old was coming off back-to-back knockout losses to Drew Dober and Islam Makhachev respectively.

Saturday’s ‘Ferguson vs. Green’ bout resulted in a solid back and forth affair. Tony Ferguson was able to drop Bobby Green with a right hand in the opening round, but ‘King’ stormed back to dominate round two. In the late stages of the third and final round, Ferguson went for a takedown but ended up giving Green top position. From there, Bobby promptly locked up an arm triangle choke which eventually put Ferguson to sleep.

Official UFC 291 Result: Bobby Green def. Tony Ferguson via submission (arm triangle choke) at 4:54 of Round 3

Shortly following his sixth consecutive setback, ‘El Cucuy’ took to Instagram where he issued the following statement on his loss to Green.

 

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“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.”

Tony Ferguson continued:

“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 🏔️”

Who would you like to see Tony Ferguson fight in his next UFC appearance?