Ferguson: Cutting Weight Just Made Sense
Tony Ferguson made headlines recently when he decided to cut weight despite having no fight booked on Saturday.
Ferguson was set to collide with Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title at UFC 249 tonight. However, the event was indefinitely postponed after UFC president Dana White was told to stand down by Disney executives due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
That didn’t stop Ferguson who after asking Gaethje whether he was cutting weight like he was, followed up on his promise and made the 155-pound weight limit on Friday.
“Championship🥇Weight” Official Weight: 155lbs #ufc249 Recovery🌱Dayze An Do It Again, Practice Weight Cut Complete ✔️ @vitagoods Scale On Point 💯 Tool🧰Box, Many Thanks To All My Supporters 💪🕶 -CSO- 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/hBEwqfRgXp
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) April 17, 2020
So was “El Cucuy” doing it simply to make headlines? There were more reasons behind the bizarre decision.
“It wasn’t just for me — it was for my team, man, and my sponsors and obviously for my family,” Ferguson told ESPN. “And just the commitment to myself to follow through with the weight cut. … To me that says a lot more for my stock. Saying that you know what, ‘I’m gonna make weight; I’m not gonna miss weight.’ I have what it takes mentally to go through this fight camp. It’s gonna be awesome, dude. It was such a great experience.”
The UFC is currently planning to return to action with a stacked May 9 card which would see Ferguson and Gaethje collide for real. Although he hasn’t signed anything yet, Ferguson has no problem cutting weight once again in three weeks.
“I’ve been doing the exact same s—,” Ferguson said. “Everybody has been quarantined now, but I’m still living the same life. I’m still doing my thing, which is training and bettering myself every single day. My growth factor is f—ing huge right now, pardon my language. Literally, I feel great.
“For me to make weight and Justin Gaethje not to make weight, that’s a chalk line right there. That’s a chalk line versus any opponent I have. Any person that would make championship weight today was the smart one that’s gonna compete on that card, that’s still competing.”
So how much did Ferguson actually (needlessly) cut? In the space of a few days, it was 24 pounds.
“From 179 to 155, bro,” Ferguson added. “I know how do to this. Let’s f—ing go. Champ s— only.”
https://twitter.com/TonyFergusonXT/status/1251312103413043200
Don’t be surprised if the former interim lightweight champion makes weight again with no problems should the May 9 card go ahead.
