Fresh off his TKO win over Salt Papi in August, Tony Ferguson returns on Dec. 20 to defend his Misfits Boxing interim middleweight title against Warren Spencer at Misfits Boxing: The Fight Before Christmas. The showdown goes down inside the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium.
Ferguson has clearly rediscovered his fire. After snapping his long combat sports skid, he admitted the win over Salt Papi brought relief and joy he hadn’t felt in years.
“I had no tears. It was nothing but joy and just enjoying the moment for a split second because you’re talking about years of not being happy,” Ferguson told Seconds Out after Misfits Boxing 22. “Not because of the loss, just because of not being happy. This is something that I always wanted to do: throw on some boxing gloves and just throw some leather. Tonight was the perfect example of that, and get rid of the nerves and get that first victory out of the way.”
That victory was all he needed to reset mentally and get back into his competitive groove.
“I needed one victory to get me back into where I need to be, which is killer mode, and to bring that confidence, so I’m able to understand who the fck I am,” Ferguson said. “For a long time, when the pandemic hit, I don’t know what the fck happened. Everything broke outside of there and I had to bring force, and it took a lot of pressure. I have no pressure on me now. I left it all inside that ring. I’m going to go back to the drawing board, listen to my coaches and figure sh*t out.”
Both Ferguson and Spencer enter the fight at 1-0 in pro boxing. Spencer also made a brief MMA appearance under the Misfits banner the same night Ferguson claimed interim gold, but it didn’t last long. Dillon Danis submitted Spencer in 15 seconds.
Now, Spencer returns to straight boxing after stacking back-to-back wins in Misfits competition across 2024 and 2025. But facing Tony Ferguson inside the ring is a different level of pressure.
The Dec. 20 event also features Dillon Danis’ return just weeks after his chaotic UFC 322 brawl that led to his lifetime ban from UFC arenas. Danis will face Anthony Taylor under Misfits rules in an MMA bout.
