UFC 155-pound interim champion Tony Ferguson says his original plan when he entered MMA was to fight at 170 pounds and face Georges St-Pierre.
Lightweight interim champion Tony Ferguson has had major success at 155-pounds in the UFC alone. But apparently, his intended career trajectory was supposed to be at 170 pounds.
During the recent media lunch ahead of UFC 223, “El Cucuy” revealed that his original intention was to fight at welterweight, but was “forced” to drop down 15 pounds.
“That’s what I signed up for in the beginning. I was 170 pounds; 155 was forced on me,” Ferguson said (via MMA Fighting). “I mean, that forced the move, ultimate reality, then that’s not the end result; 170 pounds, where I had 12 fights.”
Ferguson even believes that the ultimate “money fight” for him would be facing Georges St-Pierre. However, he refuses to let himself be caught up with the money alone and devalue what a UFC title stands for.
“I mean, GSP, literally if he wants a money fight, he’s an athlete. We all have to pay our bills,” Ferguson said. “We all have to pay our taxes. Straight up.”
“Pay attention because when you’re not doing it and you’re not paying attention and you’re going on just fighting for money fights, you’re forgetting, and (the title) starts losing its luster. It becomes tarnished.”
Ferguson will headline UFC 223 against Khabib Nurmagomedov on April 7th in Brooklyn, New York.