Tony
Ferguson has issued an ultimatum to Charles
Oliveira ahead of their co-main event clash at UFC
256.
“I am counting on the Brazilian [Charles
Oliveira] and others to come In overweight like usual. So I’m
calling it now,” Ferguson wrote on Instagram. “Case law: Short
notice fight, Charles
Oliveira will not cut weight all week and show up 3-4 pounds
overweight and use the excuse of a short-notice fight.”
“If he shows up that much overweight, we are not competing. So
crew, make sure you visit the kid’s page and encourage him to make
the weight if you want to see a fight.”
Oliveira missed weight on four occasions while competing in the
featherweight division but he has been on point for all nine of his
lightweight bouts in the UFC. However, Ferguson vs. Oliveira was
added to the UFC 256 lineup on short notice after the event lost a
pair of title bouts.
Ferguson famously
cut and made weight for a bout in April against Justin
Gaethje even though the entire event had already been canceled
due to the coronavirus pandemic. “El Cucuy” revealed in his post
that he has changed nutritionists ahead of UFC 256 and is pleased
with the results thus far.
“At the beginning of this camp, I made a conscious decision to
trust in what got me here and the results are amazing,” Ferguson
wrote. “I have been competing in athletics for over 30 years and
making weight the same amount of time. Weight is good and eating
right.”
Ferguson eventually lost to Gaethje by fifth-round technical
knockout in an interim title fight at UFC 249 on May 9, ending a
12-fight winning streak for the Team Death Clutch representative.
Oliveira, meanwhile, enters the most significant test of his career
on a seven-bout winning streak in the Octagon.