Tony Ferguson's decline is a good example of why fundamentals matter

[blaseblase]

Tony never had good fundamental skills. He always had weak takedown defense and would constantly give up position. He never learned to protect his chin and he can't take the same shots anymore. His offense relied heavily on unorthodox striking techniques. Once the speed and athleticism left him, there was nothing remaining to keep him at an elite level. He never really had knockout power either, which is what helps some fighters win as they age. Some of his prime wins are literally just him out-toughing his opponent and he clearly can't do that anymore.

 

[markg171]

Everybody ignored that he nearly got beat the exact same ways he's since lost all throughout his win streak. He didn't dominate 12 guys in a row. He nearly lost half them and was scraping by fights with heart, cardio, toughness, cheating, bad calls, and complete luck. Not superior skill.

Obviously he's worse now and it's exasberating his issues but anybody pretending his streak wasn't balanced on a knife's edge all along is lying.

 

[Smato_rules]

Either nick or Nate Diaz said that in an interview years ago when he was still on top.

 

[Sullen Drunkard]

True
You can see from Larry Holmes how much a good knowledge of the fundamentals can lenghten your sports career

 

[Howard Moon]

I mean it's right in the definition.
Fundamental:
Forming or serving as an essential component of a system or structure

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

Tony is obviously over encumbered. He needs to drop some items, sell some gear he's not using anymore, and then dump way more points into Vitality and Agility. That will allow Tony to have the proper build to continue to Dark Souls roll and beat all bosses of the LW division. Humanity Restored.

 

[linvillegorge]

Tony never had tremendous speed anyway. I'm not sure he would've been able to accomplish what he did with textbook fundamentals. A lot of his success was honestly largely due to being unorthodox and unpredictable. All the fundamental soundness in the world wouldn't make him any less washed currently.

 

[MMAProfessional]

Everybody ignored that he nearly got beat the exact same ways he's since lost all throughout his win streak. He didn't dominate 12 guys in a row. He nearly lost half them and was scraping by fights with heart, cardio, toughness, cheating, bad calls, and complete luck. Not superior skill.

Obviously he's worse now and it's exasberating his issues but anybody pretending his streak wasn't balanced on a knife's edge all along is lying.

Yeah everyone talked about how Tony was getting hurt basically every fight so this seemed inevitable. Paddy really isn't bad. It will be interesting if he gets the BJ treatment now where they appear to try and get him a win. Paddy wasn't that, more for Paddy to get over on Tony if anything.

 

[LiQuiD42]

Tony is obviously over encumbered. He needs to drop some items, sell some gear he's not using anymore, and then dump way more points into Vitality and Agility. That will allow Tony to have the proper build to continue to Dark Souls roll and beat all bosses of the LW division. Humanity Restored.

I believe this is the best assessment of what needs to happen. If not Tony should completely re-roll his character and start the build entirely fresh.

 

[UppercutFromHades]

I was watching old TF just now. He was so good in his pomp. Offensively he was a dynamo. Those elbows, the angles, the fluidity in his strikes and his cardio was awesome.

Sad to see him now - he is a shell, washed up.

 

[Haj01]

How he didn't break his back with terrible form whilst deadlifting. That was a meme on here for a while. He's always been weird and too stubborn to change.

He had amateur wrestling experience but after TUF it's like he forgot what a takedown was.

 

[Killer Kadoogan]

I believe this is the best assessment of what needs to happen. If not Tony should completely re-roll his character and start the build entirely fresh.

I concur, I think a re-roll, fresh start would be best. Also, give his new character a little bit more hair.

 

[Bork Neslar]

Maybe.

 

[pātrēärkē]

I was thinking the same thing. Reminds of the difference between the later careers of Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather. Both were amazing in their primes but Roy relied on his athleticism far more

 

[Blastbeat]

Everybody ignored that he nearly got beat the exact same ways he's since lost all throughout his win streak. He didn't dominate 12 guys in a row. He nearly lost half them and was scraping by fights with heart, cardio, toughness, cheating, bad calls, and complete luck. Not superior skill.

Obviously he's worse now and it's exasberating his issues but anybody pretending his streak wasn't balanced on a knife's edge all along is lying.

true and thats part of what made his winning streak and him so exciting. you never knew how his wild bouts were gonna go.
its unfortunate that its led to this massive losing streak. i still think Tony's one of the best LWs the UFC has ever had.

 

[textwarrior]

Tony never had good fundamental skills. He always had weak takedown defense and would constantly give up position. He never learned to protect his chin and he can't take the same shots anymore. His offense relied heavily on unorthodox striking techniques. Once the speed and athleticism left him, there was nothing remaining to keep him at an elite level. He never really had knockout power either, which is what helps some fighters win as they age. Some of his prime wins are literally just him out-toughing his opponent and he clearly can't do that anymore.

A good chin with less damage really helps.

 

[NoSmilez]

Fundamentals matter but he got old. It doesn't really matter at this point.

 

[laleggenda27]

Tony's "decline" has nothing to do with fundamentals; it's about age. At this age and mileage (the guy's been fighting professionally for 15 years), no amount of fundamentals would keep him "at an elite level."

Tony was 36 when this losing streak started. The only current top 10 LW who's 36 or older is Chandler, and his best win in the UFC was over #6 ranked Hooker (when Chandler was 34).

If anything, Tony fought at an elite level longer than almost every other LW.

 

[markg171]

Tony's "decline" has nothing to do with fundamentals; it's about age. At this age and mileage (the guy's been fighting professionally for 15 years), no amount of fundamentals would keep him "at an elite level."

Tony was 36 when this losing streak started. The only current top 10 LW who's 36 or older is Chandler, and his best win in the UFC was over #6 ranked Hooker (when Chandler was 34).

If anything, Tony fought at an elite level longer than almost every other LW.

Dude he got submitted by Bobby Green of all fucking people. Bobby hadn't submitted someone in over a decade, let alone a supposed BB like Tony. Bobby's 37 and has 13 more fights than Tony.

Tony's issues absolutely have to do with a lack of underlying skill. His age is just exasberating that there isn't as much there as is needed to succeed without a shit ton of luck and toughness, which was apparent to everybody being honest long before he started losing.

He's always had a skill problem.

 

[ipowerslapmywife]

Everybody ignored that he nearly got beat the exact same ways he's since lost all throughout his win streak. He didn't dominate 12 guys in a row. He nearly lost half them and was scraping by fights with heart, cardio, toughness, cheating, bad calls, and complete luck. Not superior skill.

Obviously he's worse now and it's exasberating his issues but anybody pretending his streak wasn't balanced on a knife's edge all along is lying.

He did dominate most of his fights lol. Besides the Lando fight. He would put pressure on and break all his opponents. Watch the RDA and Pettis fights. It was superior skill, he would outstrike most of his opponents with his unorthodox striking. His ground game and guard were elite in his prime, that’s why he was subbing guys off his back and catching guys in darce chokes. He’s also the only fighter to effectively use elbows standing and on his back.

He’s just washed up, you can’t fight past 34 at lowest weight classes like lightweight. He got old and lost all his athleticism