4 biggest takeaways from UFC on ABC 7: Will Tony Ferguson actually retire after record-setting losing skid? (2024)

Mackenzie Dern

Mackenzie Dern was emphatic during our pre-fight interview Tuesday that she needed to be wiser in her approach against Loopy Godinez after suffering back-to-back losses.

Dern (14-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) largely did that, fighting intelligently both on the feet and ground for a much-needed unanimous decision win. It wasn’t finishing statement she ultimately wanted, but given she was in a precarious position coming it, she should be relatively pleased with the outcome.

I still have a lot of stock invested in Dern and believe that with the right string of performances, she can get that UFC strawweight title around her waist. She needs to get better still and more consistent in the octagon, but all the potential remains.

Tony Ferguson

Tony Ferguson’s career downfall continued in another crash-and-burn performance against Michael Chiesa, in which he was submitted in the first-round for a record-setting eighth consecutive UFC loss.

It’s been nothing short of shocking to witness what has happened to Ferguson (25-11 MMA, 15-9 UFC) over the past four-plus years. He’s gone from what was once the longest winning streak in lightweight history at 12 fights, to losing more bouts in a row than any other athlete in the history of the company.

This was the right moment for Ferguson to walk away, and we almost got there with his in-cage interview. But before he even left the arena bowl, he threw the glove he vowed to keep and bring home to his family moments earlier, and emphatically said he’s still got work to do.

It will be interesting to see what happens. Ferguson has been consistent in his message that he doesn’t want to fight anywhere else but in the UFC. But UFC CEO Dana White has also said this was it for him. Which side is going to give? If Ferguson refuses to walk away, the games will begin.

Deiveson Figueiredo

Deiveson Figueiredo continues to show that he very much belongs at the top of the heap in the bantamweight division when he clearly defeated the most recent title challenger in the weight class in Marlon Vera.

It wasn’t a completely one-sided performance in his unanimous decision triumph, but it was efficient work for Figueiredo (24-3-1 MMA, 13-3-1 UFC), who can now claim to be the only fighter to knock down “Chito” inside the octagon. That’s a nice feather in his cap as he moves to 3-0 in his new weight class after a run at flyweight where he had two separate title reigns.

The trek to the top at 135 pounds won’t be easy for Figueiredo. The division is stacked, but his resume might get him a faster route to the top. Will he get the winner of Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili at Noche UFC on Sept. 14? I don’t know if I would bank on it right now given the main event result, but he’s not super far off.

One thing can be said about Figueiredo, though: If you were to put money on any fighter in the UFC right now to have a chance of becoming the 10th name in history to win titles in two weight classes within the organization, the Brazilian would be the frontrunner.

Umar Nurmagomedov

Many people questioned whether Umar Nurmagomedov deserved this chance against Cory Sandhagen. They called Dagestan privilege. They called Nurmagomedov privilege. They said he would be fraud checked.

Granted, those same people still will find ways to hate on Nurmagomedov (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) despite his clear-cut unanimous decision win over Sandhagen. They’ll point to his 13 takedown attempts and more than five minutes of control time and call him a “crotch-sniffer.” They’ll somehow try to downplay Sandhagen and claim he’s repeatedly failed to get over the hump.

Any of that negativity is nonsense in my mind. Sandhagen humbly took his defeat and told the world Nurmagomedov is as good as advertised by his supporters after he was largely outstruck and out grappled for 25 minutes. Nurmagomedov mixed it up about as well as one could ask, and sans a finish, he more than proved he belongs at the top level of this weight class.

Is it a matter of time until Nurmagomedov joins Khabib as UFC champions in the historic family name? Sandhagen seems to think so after fighting him, and I do, too.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 7.