UFC veteran and former interim UFC champion lightweight Tony Ferguson will appear at UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday. The fighter has had a seven-fight losing streak and plans to break it when he faces Michael Chiesa in a welterweight bout.
The fighter has had a tough couple of fights, and despite his age and UFC CEO Dana White suggesting he should hang up his gloves, he is adamant.
“I’m 40-f*cking-years old,” Ferguson said at UFC Abu Dhabi media day. “I’ve been competing in this sport for a very long time, all around in sports for over 35 years. Kind of crazy. Wrestled in college at 165. 170 is what I won The Ultimate Fighter at. Michael Chiesa won it at 155. We do the math. We do the numbers, and you’re not supposed to go backwards. I’ve been fighting backwards my whole entire time, trying to just stay there for who-God-knows-f*cking-what reason.
“Hundred-and-seventy pounds, I feel comfortable. I don’t feel like this is going to be my last fight. But, I have to do some extraordinary shit, is what I’m planning to do.”
“I feel so f*cking fresh like it’s a completely different look. And, I love the UFC, this is where I’m going to stay, so I have to earn that right.
“I do have seven losses. Who gets an eighth chance except for me? I don’t ever ask for a lot of sh*t, so I’m asking myself to go out there and do the best performance I possibly can so that I can retain my spot.”
Ferguson was a top lightweight fighter before his downward spiral. The fighter has been taking back-to-back hits since a doctor stoppage loss in 2019 when he battled Donald Cerrone. Since then, he has lost all his fights against opponents like Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush, and Michael Chandler. His latest submission loss against Paddy Pimblett was supposed to end his UFC run, but the fighter doesn’t plan on giving up just yet.
“I love the UFC, and this is where I’m going to stay,” Ferguson said. “So I have to earn that right. I do have seven losses, who gets an eighth chance when it goes into this except for me?No one, I don’t ever ask for a lot of shit so I’m asking myself to go out there and do the best performance I probably can, so that way I can retain my spot.
“I do want to be here. And,I don’t want to go fight for another organisation. Where the f*ck am I going to go, BKFC and have Conor [McGregor] work for me again? No, I don’t want to do that shit. Literally, this is home. It’s always been home. If it comes down to it, maybe I’ll open up my own promotion. There’s a lot of different business routes that I want to go, and I believe that the younger generation is waiting for me to f*cking do something. I’ve been doing a lot of different things. I just haven’t taken that next step because, well, I’m not ready yet. When I’m ready, maybe so, but not yet.”
“No,” Ferguson said when asked if this will be his last fight. “I have this game plan. As soon as I get done here, I’m going to study. So I just got done with an hour and a half of cardio. It was 20 bike, 20 treads, 20 elliptical, and 20 on a row. And then, before that, I did 18 rounds. So my body is activated, and to be as focused as I am right now, I’m taking this not as a ‘kill kill kill’ kind of thing because that’s never the guy I was. But more of an athlete, as in, I’m going to outpoint you, I’m going to f*cking work you, I’m going to make you want to get the f*ck out of there.
“So Chiesa is going to have his hands full. Respect, but the respect ends as soon as that cage door closes.”
Ferguson still has a lot of fuel in his tank. Despite naysayers, his fight with Chiesa isn’t the final fight left on his UFC contract. The fighter plans to complete his contract and battle every opponent.
“You guys all read the tabloids about how they [UFC] want to keep renewing contracts, and I’ve been very fortunate to always get a better deal when it comes to myself… I love this company and have plenty of fights left, but this is not a fight last or first or however, everyone wants to see it.”
