Tony Ferguson is ready to change his ways.
Ferguson is coming off a second-round knockout defeat to Michael Chandler after eating a devastating front kick to the face at UFC 274 this past weekend.
Despite starting off well and knocking Chandler down in the first round, Ferguson was caught early in the second and would get knocked out cold for the first time in his career.
Ferguson has since been in good spirits, making jokes about going to sleep as well as apologizing to his fans and detailing his plans to work hard and come back stronger.
He also took the defeat well in his first proper interview with the media since UFC 274.
“I got knocked the f*ck out,” Ferguson told MMA Junkie. “I don’t want that sh*t to ever happen again. It could’ve, one – been prevented – and two, I should’ve had him finished in the first round. As soon as I knocked him down. The little basics that I could’ve did to make sure I could’ve got out in the first round, and everybody would be kissing my ass. But God works in mysterious ways, and he’s not ready yet, son. He had me sit down and take a nap and rest for a second, because I work my ass off this camp with this humility that people want to present to me. I’m a new man. I don’t care. I’ve been to hell and back and I’m here now. Reborn again. And I’m here to take over.
“There’s only so much humility a man can go through. I’ve been through it all, right? I’ve had my belt stripped – I don’t have to go back and refurbish all that stuff. But going back and looking at it, the first round I didn’t do too bad. I was having fun in there, I had a good fight week. I started loosening up in there more toward the fight, which was fun. It was really good to be back in there, I’ll be real. Except for the second round. The second round, I’m still kind of flabbergasted why I was backing up.”
Tony Ferguson Plans On Joining MMA Gym
One way Ferguson plans on avoiding such a fate again is by finally joining an MMA team.
While most fighters are with a big gym such as American Top Team or City Kickboxing, “El Cucuy” has mainly trained with hand-selected coaches and training partners in recent years.
His last four fights have all had different cornermen and coaches.
But Ferguson is changing that and even revealed some gyms that had reached out.
“I’ve had ‘Pit Master’ reach out to me – John Hackleman,” Ferguson said. “You have Jackson-Wink, as well. You have Syndicate out in Vegas. You have the UFC P.I. You have many, many people. But I haven’t put myself out there. I put myself away from the interviews, I put myself away from the teams thinking I could do this by myself. And I did it. I’ve done this by myself for a very long time with the help of a select few individuals, and I’ve been very fortunate to have that. But I’m ready to be part of a team again. It was only when my team broke up that I felt really hurt that I moved areas, that I moved situations, switched management and all the above. I have to open myself up again to being coached at a high level. Especially in my sport.
“It’s very important that you have a very good relationship with (coaches) so they’re not sending you into battle to get hurt. I’ve been very fortunate the last couple of camps, and I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve walked out OK. And I pray to God every day that I walked out of that cage. Not coherent, but I was able to wake up. I don’t remember sitting on the stool. I don’t remember barely the second round. I don’t remember talking to Chuck Liddell, and I don’t remember walking out and seeing the fans. All I remember was looking at my coach and the lights kind of went to fade in, like a movie director. I’m walking with my coach and I look at him and I already knew it. I’m like, ‘F*ck, I lost.’”
Once Ferguson sorts out his new training team, he will eventually look to get back inside the Octagon.
“What I’ve always done is call my shots with the UFC,” Ferguson added. “I’m a shot-caller with the UFC. Any time I want a fight I always bring myself presentable. My relationship with Dana is decent. I might say a couple things and act on it, but that’s not me retaliating. That’s me defending myself. That’s me being able to speak and have balls. Be a man. For a while there I felt like I had to be quiet and earn my respect and earn my value, but I stopped worrying about all that sh*t.
“When I’m ready to fight I will let the UFC know, and I guarantee you they’ll let me know, too, ‘Hey, this is who we have.’ I was ready for (Islam) Makhachev in Abu Dhabi if some things would’ve been a little bit different. But I try to take these opportunities and present them so I’m there for the company. They know I’m a company man, and that’s why they said I’m not going anywhere.”
Which team do you think Tony Ferguson should join?
