Within the past two years, there was one fight that piqued the interest of MMA fans. Tony Ferguson versus Khabib Nurmagomedov. No fight has been proposed or has fallen through more times than that. Nonetheless, the “fight that never was” became less desirable once Ferguson lost to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249. In fact, some people believe that Ferguson should retire due to the loss plus the amount of damage he’s taken over the years. For Tony, he doesn’t understand why anyone would write him not. Especially at this point in his career.
UFC 249
Ferguson hasn’t competed since the fifth-round TKO loss to Justin Gaethje in their interim lightweight title fight at UFC 249 in May. Since then, “El Cucuy” has remained out of the limelight. Especially when it comes to media duties. But, he did speak about in a recent interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.
Ferguson on Fans Wanting him to Retire
Recently, Tony spoke to ESPN about his positioning within the lightweight division. And, for all of those who believe that Ferguson should retire, they should think again.
“For me, I’m able to adjust on the fly,” said Tony. “I feel bad for a lot of these up and coming fighters that just got their pro license or they are looking for fights and they don’t know what to do. Or, these college athletes that don’t know what is going on with their future or how they are going to get picked into the draft. There are a lot of what-ifs, right? It’s crazy, I feel for those guys man. A lot of us veterans, we can adjust on the fly like how we have with this stuff.”
He continued, “We are able to change with experience, but that is us plowing the road for these younger generations to come through and eventually take the torch,” he continued. “But, for me, that ain’t anytime soon. These motherf*****s are out there writing me off saying yo you need to retire right now, f**k you guys.”
Remaining Elite
Even with the loss, Ferguson is still the #3 ranked lightweight in the entire world. As a legitimate threat to the title, Tony still has a lot of fight left in him. Although he’s suffered a lot of damage over the course of his career, Tony Ferguson is not going to retire.
