Charles Oliveira transitioned from mount to armbar. His legs kept Tony Ferguson in place with Ferguson’s back on the canvas. Oliveira torqued on Ferguson’s left arm hard with Ferguson unable to defend. With time expiring in the first round, Oliveira completely hyperextended Ferguson’s arm — but Ferguson would not tap out.
That’s about how the entire fight went between Oliveira and Ferguson in the co-main event of UFC 256 on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Oliveira had advantageous position after advantageous position. He did damage; he had close submission attempts. But Ferguson refused to give up.
The result, though, was Oliveira winning by a one-sided unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), the biggest victory of Oliveira’s career. Since returning to lightweight from featherweight in 2017, Oliveira has nine wins, tied for the most in the UFC with Israel Adesanya and Deiveson…
