Tony Ferguson lost a third-round submission to Bobby Green at UFC 291 in Salt Lake City.
Ferguson started the fight well. He knocked Green down with outside blows. Green's accidental eyepoke slowed that momentum.
Green dominated Round 2. Ferguson missed an early takedown and Green won. His ground-and-pound was devastating from there.
Ferguson was able to get to his feet, but he struggled there too. He finished the round strong with a few combinations.
Green tagged Ferguson freely again in the third round. He submitted Ferguson with an arm-triangle choke instead of coasting to the win.
Former interim champion maintains six-fight losing streak. He hasn't won since Donald Cerrone's second-round doctors stoppage in June 2019.
Most of them losses were to strong opponents. After losing to Justin Gaethje in an interim title fight, Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush, Michael Chandler
All of the competitors were UFC championship contenders. Green is a definite underdog who has struggled. His last seven fights were 2-4 with one No Contest.
If he loses to Green, the 39-year-old should consider retiring. El Cucuy planned to fight five more times for a title shot before the setback.
"I want five fights and then a title," he told Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com. "It's got to be five of the proper bouts, finish the right way with all the trimmings