‘It Makes Me Sick About MMA’

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA- Fighters stick together.

Chris Padilla scored a big win at UFC Vegas 97 last night (Sat., Sept. 7, 2024) when he mushed Rongzhu’s orbital bone with a horrific elbow to cause a doctor’s stoppage from inside the UFC Apex in “Sin City.”

During the fight, one of the UFC commentators and fans on Twitter compared Padilla’s vicious elbows to UFC legend Tony Ferguson’s. Afterward, during his post-fight interview with the media, “Taco” was asked about the comparison, to which he ripped fans for the recent Ferguson hate.

“That is one of the greatest honors of all time,” Padilla said. “This is the thing, I’m not going to lie to you, it makes me sick about MMA- a guy can go on a losing streak, and then he’s trash. Bro, if you don’t shut that up. Tony Ferguson gave us the greatest moments of his entire life. Tony Ferguson is the kind of guy who can be good at anything; that motherf—ker could be an astronaut if he wanted to. But guess what, he got in there and bled for us, fought monsters for us. Man, he’s an absolute legend.

So, to even be compared to someone of that nature so early in my career, it’s an honor,” Padilla continued. “Thank you, Tony, for giving us the best, man. Thank you for entertaining us, and thank you for giving us pure violence at every moment of the fight. I studied Tony Ferguson for this fight, so it was already in my head about how he throws elbows.”

Padilla makes a great point about fight fans turning on a legend of the sport, but to be fair, he is also on the longest losing streak in UFC history with eight losses. Nevertheless, Ferguson is still one of the best to ever do it and is far from trash.

Padilla is 2-0 since making his UFC debut this year with two finishes. He told MMAManai.com that he is taking the rest of the year off because his coach is having a baby and doesn’t want to add any extra stress.

Expect a return in early 2025.

---

For complete UFC Vegas 97 results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.