Tony Ferguson 's knockout loss to Michael Chandler last weekend has been labelled the "first murder" in the UFC.
Ferguson was brutally knocked out in the second round at UFC 274 by a front kick from Chandler. Ferguson, who had a successful first round, collapsed to the canvas in brutal fashion after being hit with the kick as his neck jolted before landing face first.
The former interim titleholder was the only fighter on the card to be transported to hospital after his devastating loss. Ferguson has since released a statement congratulating Chandler on his win and promising to come back stronger.
UFC bantamweight Sean O'Malley was cagseside for the event in Phoenix and watched Chandler's knockout win alongside fellow fighter Cory Sandhagen. O'Malley said he and Sandhagen jumped out of their seats at the finish, which he likened to a "murder".
What was your reaction to Michael Chandler's knockout of Tony Ferguson? Let us know in the comments section below
"That front kick was like, dude Tony laid there for like four hours. I was like, 'Oh, s***! We just witnessed the first murder.' Only other time I felt like that was when Aljamain Sterling got knocked out by Marlon Moraes," O'Malley said on his podcast the ' TimboSugarShow '.
UFC champion Sterling was knocked out in similar fashion to Fergsuon by the now-retired Moraes. O'Malley continued by stating he feels bad for Ferguson and hopes he can get the support he needs from those around him after the loss. "Honestly you've got to feel bad for Tony, you don't know where he is at mentally. Even if he was in a good place he probably isn't now. Who does he have around him in these moments? Hopefully he's good, that's scary s*** dude, so scary."
UFC boss Dana White labelled Chandler's win over Ferguson as the "most vicious knockout" he's ever seen. Whilst offering his support to Ferguson, Chandler admitted that he doesn't usually drill the fight-winning technique during training.
"We don't really train that much, it just happened," said Chandler. "He's so long but he does keep his hands out on the side so there is a lane up the middle. We were going to go fake shot-uppercut a lot too but it turns out he was tagging me in the first round," he said.
"It's tough because ideally that's what I want to do to Tony Ferguson. We're in the business of separating guys from consciousness but Tony Ferguson has been a guy who has helped build the lightweight division. My thoughts and prayers are with him and I'm hoping for a speedy recovery."
