Tony Ferguson doesn’t like hearing all this retirement talk.
The past four years haven’t been kind to Ferguson. The Ultimate Fighter 13 (TUF) winner’s last win came over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 238 in June 2019 and six straight losses have since followed.
While Ferguson’s losing skid started with an interim title beating from Justin Gaethje in May 2020, the worst falls of the stretch have been in his last three where he’s been submitted twice and knocked out once. After his most recent loss to Bobby Green at UFC 291 (watch highlights) last month (July 29, 2023), Ferguson, 39, has been begged to retire by the mixed martial arts (MMA) community. However, “El Cucuy” shared a list on Twitter today (Mon., Aug. 21, 2023), indicating that he doesn’t plan on calling it a career despite his lack of success as of late.
1.) Haven’t Sparred Good Since [Edson] Barboza or [Josh Thomson]
2.) Only Time I Find Myself In A Cage Is When I Fight
3.) Since Pandemic None of This S—t Has Been Fun
4.) I Used To Smile A Lot Moar When I Was Competing
5.) Been So Busy Taking Care Of Others Instead Of Myself
7.) Created Boundaries Between Those Who Are Bad For Me
8.) Structured Myself So I Don’t Make The Same Mistakes
9.) No I’m Not Retiring & F—k Those Who Think I Should
10.) I Have Work To Do & I’m One Pissed Off MF
-Champ [sword and sunglasses emojis] -CSO-
Ferguson rode an all-time impressive winning streak in the Lightweight division before suffering defeat to the aforementioned Gaethje. Winning 12 in a row, Ferguson claimed interim gold along the way by submitting Kevin Lee with a third round triangle choke in the UFC 216 main event in Oct. 2017.