Tony Ferguson is not ready to retire and has a simple message for the people suggesting he should walk away from the sport after suffering defeat against Justin Gaethje.
Ferguson was riding a 12-fight winning streak ahead of his fight against Gaethje at UFC 249. On fight night ‘El Cucuy’ was on the receiving end of a brutal, one-side beat down against ‘The Highlight’ who ultimately picked the fifth-round stoppage win and the interim lightweight title on May 9.
Following the loss many wondered if the 35-year-old was now past his prime. Some even suggested Ferguson should retire from fighting after suffering such a brutal loss but he has absolutley not interest in doing so.
“For me, I’m able to adjust on the fly. I feel bad for a lot of these up and coming fighters that just got their pro license or they are looking for fights and they don’t know what to do. Or, these college athletes that don’t know what is going on with their future or how they are going to get picked into the draft,” Ferguson said to ESPN. “There are a lot of what-ifs, right? It’s crazy, I feel for those guys man. A lot of us veterans, we can adjust on the fly like how we have with this stuff.
“We are able to change with experience, but that is us plowing the road for these younger generations to come through and eventually take the torch,” he continued. “But, for me, that ain’t anytime soon. These motherf*****s are out there writing me off saying yo you need to retire right now, f**k you guys.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)
Ferguson is already eyeing up his next fight. The lightweight contender hopes to face off against either Dustin Poirier or Conor McGregor to earn his long overdue shot at the 155lb title.
Do you think Tony Ferguson should retire?