UFC: Tony Ferguson Prepared To Fight At Welterweight To Stay Active
Tony Ferguson has made it clear that he intends to fight again in 2020.
Coming off a loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 fighting for the UFC interim lightweight title, and having served his medical suspension, ‘El Cucuy’ is keen to get back inside the Octagon as soon as possible. The loss back in May ended Ferguson’s twelve fight winning streak.
Ferguson was recently in negotiations to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 254, but ‘The Diamond’ couldn’t agree terms with the promotion. Speaking to ESPN however, the 36 year old stated that fans can expect to see him fight again soon.
“I will be competing,” Ferguson stated. “People will see me, one way or another, being active.”
While Ferguson said he loves to fight in the UFC, he was quick to point out that his relationship with UFC president Dana White is strictly professional.
“Dana wanted to speak for me,” Ferguson said. “He wanted to go out there and be like, ‘Tony is gonna take this fight.’ Bro, we’re not friends. I never said we were friends. It’s just business, right? I’m there when you need me. … Seriously, man, I’m a contractor, I do my thing. I love you, fam. I love the UFC and all that. But I’m not just a piece of meat out there.”
Having beaten Ferguson, Gaethje will now face Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 on October 24th. Although ‘The Highlight’s’ win at UFC 249 appeared to put an end to our hopes of finally seeing ‘The Eagle’ and ‘El Cucuy’ face off inside the Octagon, Dana recently told Sport Illustrated that he’s not ruling out booking the fight for a sixth time.
“If Khabib does beat Gaethje, you get Tony Ferguson another fight, which we’re working on right now,” Dana said. “And hopefully that fight with Khabib happens because I know people want to see it.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fight fall apart as many times as those two. It almost scares me to make the fight again. What’s going to happen? An asteroid comes to Earth? That’s the level of bad this thing is.”
As far as Ferguson is concerned, as much as the fans want to see the fight, he won’t wait on Khabib.
“I don’t wait on f***ing nobody,” Ferguson said. “Khabib, he can retire. He can do whatever … he wants. I’m not gonna hold his hand. I’ll be there for him as a brother in f***ing arms across the mat, but that’s all I can say. “
Having fought at welterweight before, Ferguson hinted that moving up is an option for him if a fight at lightweight matchup doesn’t present itself.
“I got [welterweight] and I’ve got the frame to go up to [middleweight],” Ferguson said. “I like to go out there and compete. Everybody forgets that I used to knock everybody out at 170 [pounds].”
Despite his doggedness, Ferguson is well aware of how ruthless the fight game can be.
“You’re only as good as your last fight,” Ferguson said.
Do you think we’ll ever see Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov face off inside the UFC Octagon?
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