Tony Ferguson is ready to get back to his winning ways.
UFC 296 will close out the year for the promotion as the December 2023 pay-per-view event. Stacking the card from top to bottom, a Lightweight clash was recently announced, pitting the one-time interim titleholder, Ferguson, against rising superstar prospect, Paddy Pimblett.
The match up has fans and pundits alike split on how they feel, but oddsmakers aren’t liking “El Cucuy’s” chances. Ultimately, someone’s streak will continue as each is on opposite trajectories in this part of their respective careers.
“I’m not gonna say he’s a fat f—k,” Ferguson said with a laugh on The MMA Hour. “He’s a good fighter. He’s long, rangy, lanky. He likes to put on a show. Kind of mouthy. Obviously, he’s English. I think he used to fight at 145. Tall kind of guy. Good submission specialist, very beatable. He’s on a six-fight win streak, the last fight that he had against Jared Gordon, everybody says that he ended up losing. Tonight I’m actually going to be watching that fight. [I’ve] just been watching a couple highlights of him. Very beatable guy. Six-fight win streak vs. six-loss losing streak, which is f—ked up. But I hold a couple records in the UFC now and I would like to start that back up.”
Ferguson’s last win came via a technical knockout over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in June 2019, and it’s been tough sledding ever since. Pimblett, on the other hand, will return to action for the first time since earning a controversial unanimous decision over Jared Gordon at UFC 282 in December 2022. “The Baddy” had been healing from a foot injury in the meantime.