Chael Sonnen is starting to worry about Tony Ferguson.
Ferguson’s Final Fight In The UFC?
It’s been a long time coming for the former UFC Interim Lightweight Champion, who had one heck of a heyday, once putting together a 12-fight streak in arguably the UFC’s deepest division. But, that’d all come crashing down in 2020 as Ferguson went and set another record, the record for the longest losing streak in promotional history with his eighth-straight loss last weekend.
Ferguson would fall to fellow veteran Michael Chiesa, tapping out to a rear-naked choke in the very first round of their fight at UFC Abu Dhabi. Many have urged Ferguson to retire during this unfortunate skid, including UFC CEO Dana White, however, Ferguson isn’t ready to put down both gloves down just yet, wanting to fight in the Octagon another day.
Ferguson Believes In His Star Power, Sonnen Begs To Differ
Following the defeat, Ferguson said he might fight elsewhere if the UFC is done with him, citing his fans will follow him wherever he goes. Ferguson did receive quite the encore from the fans in Abu Dhabi but Sonnen addresses the harsh reality behind Ferguson’s post-fight comments.
Tony Ferguson says if Dana White decides that tonight was his last fight in the UFC, he would consider fighting somewhere else:
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 3, 2024
"If those fans out there are willing enough to come out here… I guarantee you they're going to follow me somewhere…
I'm gonna get better, and… pic.twitter.com/kbtiWEuP8r
Sonnen: ‘Zero People Booked A Ticket’ To Watch Ferguson Fight
This is what Sonnen had to say, claiming nobody comes close to the following that Conor McGregor and even the late Kimbo Slice had.
“Conor McGregor – he will have about 10,000 people that come out to Las Vegas, I’ve seen this with my own eyes, that don’t have tickets or any plan to get tickets and go to the event. They just wanna be in Vegas and support him, and they go out and they line the streets, and they sing and they chant, and they don’t even go to the fight. I mean, that’s how over he is. Nobody did that with Tony,” Sonnen said of Ferguson on his YouTube channel. “Nobody.”
“I don’t mean not thousands of people. [Maybe he had] 6 or 7. Nobody. 0 people booked a ticket, flew over there, did whatever you had to do to come out and support Tony. When a guy takes his gloves off and it’s a retirement, you cheer for him. It’s called etiquette. Never in history of sport, any sport, has somebody called it a day and not got in a standing ovation… I’m stating the obvious for you.
“Where The Concern Comes…”
In his post-fight speech, the 40 year-old Ferguson had also said he was going to keep getting better and better, leaving more room for concern for Chael Sonnen at this point of the fan-favorite’s fighting career.
“What I’m saying is this is where the concern comes,” the former title challenger went on. “He said, ‘wherever I go, I’m just gonna get better and better and better’. I would imagine that it couldn’t be any worse. What kind of a bar is that? ‘I’m gonna get better…’ A national champion wrestler with a black belt under Eddie Bravo just got jobbed out in the first round by a move that you learned on your first day…”
Listen to Chael Sonnen’s full analysis on Tony Ferguson below.
