UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier doesn’t believe Tony Ferguson’s fight against Paddy Pimblett is just a ploy for the promotion to hand their fast-rising superstar a big win.
From the moment UFC CEO Dana White revealed that Ferguson and Pimblett would go toe-to-toe at UFC 296 in December, fight fans around the world have been increasingly critical of the booking. Pimblett, who is 4-0 inside the Octagon, will look to continue his undefeated run against a fighter who has lost their last six fights in decisive fashion.
Speaking about the controversial contest on the debut episode of his new YouTube series Cormier’s Corner, the former two-division titleholder shared his surprise that Tony Ferguson was even planning on stepping inside the Octagon again after his lopsided loss to Bobby Green in July.
“After his last fight against Bobby Green, I was of the belief that he has probably reached the end of the road,” Cormier said. “That we might not see Tony Ferguson anymore, but low and behold, in December, one of the biggest fights of the year, Tony Ferguson’s next fight just got announced. He’s gonna be fighting Paddy Pimblett at the UFC pay-per-view.
“The last time we saw Paddy, he was in a very controversial decision. Got the victory, but it seemed as though where everything went right for Paddy in the beginning, the fans started to turn on him. So my question to ya’ll is this: Is this booking more about Tony Ferguson and where he is in his career, or is this booking more about elevating Paddy Pimblett?”
The general consensus appears to lean toward the latter with many accusing the UFC of propping up what’s left of Tony Ferguson’s corpse just so Paddy Pimblett can pad his record with a notable name. However, ‘DC’ doesn’t believe it’s that simple, particularly when you look at the murderer’s row of fighters that Ferguson has competed against.
In his last six outings, Tony Ferguson competed against the likes of Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush, Michael Chandler, Nate Diaz, and the aforementioned Bobby Green.
“We have seen Tony Ferguson in there with a who’s who of fighters in mixed martial arts,” Cormier continued. “So when you look at this matchup, it can’t be as simple as they are going to use his name to elevate Paddy Pimblett, even though on first look, everybody has that first reaction. It’s exactly like, ‘Ugh, here we go again. Tony Ferguson out there with this young dude to lose,’ because it seems like he’s getting fed to [Paddy], but he has fought a level of competition that not many people can even see.”
The return of Paddy The Baddy Pimblett @PaddyTheBaddy is confirmed! He'll face Tony Ferguson at UFC 296 in December! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/qH5Rbw7mv1
— Combat Sports UK (@CombatSportsUK) September 23, 2023
Tony Ferguson Has Everything to Gain While Paddy Pimblett Faces a Lose-Lose Scenario
Another argument against the booking of Paddy Pimblett and Tony Ferguson is that the bout is essentially handing the Liverpudlian a lose-lose scenario. If Pimblett scores a victory, MMA fans will dismiss it as a young-up-and-comer beating on an old broken down fighter whose best days are long behind him. If Pimblett loses, he faces the humiliation of taking an L against a fighter who hasn’t won a fight in over four years.
But if Tony Ferguson wins, Cormier believes it could reignite the confidence that ‘El Cucuy’ needs to make another run at the lightweight title.
“Imagine what happens for Tony Ferguson if he beats Paddy Pimblett. He said before the last fight… I sat in the fighter meeting with him and Tony Ferguson said, ‘It’s gonna be a fight right now. Five more fights and I’m on the title.’ So it’s not like he’s lost that desire to fight. He has not lost the thought that he can be a world champion and I’m gonna tell you this right now. This is a saying as old as time, fellas. Every great champion has one more night in him.
“We saw it with George Foreman when he beat Michael Moorer. We have seen so many great fighters have one great night where if you close your eyes and you squint enough, they remind you of that person that was on that run. They remind you of the Tony Ferguson that beat Kevin Lee for the interim championship. They remind you of the Tony Ferguson that beat Josh Thomson and beat all these dudes. ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and all them dudes that he made look so average. We’re talking about Hall of Famers.”
Watch the full interview below:
