Former interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson urged fans and supporters of him earlier this week to “keep the faith” in the immediate aftermath of his one-sided unanimous decision loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296 last weekend, and now insists he will not consider retiring from active competition.
Ferguson, a former interim lightweight champion and divisional stalwart, suffered his seventh consecutive Octagon loss in his main card fight with Pimblett over the course of the weekend, dropped in the opening round en route to a judging loss.
David Goggins with technical advice for Tony Ferguson pic.twitter.com/t3Tf6KLh4R
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(@DovySimuMMA) December 19, 2023
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Briefly rallying in the third and final round to push Liverpool native, Pimblett back to the Octagon fence as he struggled with noticeable fatigue, Tony Ferguson succumbed to his seventh consecutive loss – tieing the successive losing streak record in the promotion alongside former two-weight champion, B.J. Penn to boot.
And reacting to Oxnard veteran, Ferguson’s loss to former Cage Warriors champion, Pimblett at UFC 296, promotional CEO, White urged The Ultimate Fighter victor to consider retiring.
“I would love to see Tony (Ferguson) retire,” Dana White said after UFC 296. “When you talk about a skid, you look at the guys he fought, too. That plays a factor into it and how did he look right up until he lost? Tony tonight looked like he should retire.”
Tony Ferguson insists he will not retire after UFC 296 loss
“Listen, Tony’s been an absolute warrior and a dog in this sport,” White continued. “I don’t want to disrespect him by publicly talking about him retiring but I would love to see him retire. That’s really where my head’s at.”
And on his official Instagram account today, Ferguson, who turns 40 years old in two months time, claimed he would not call time on his career – echoing calls for fans to “keep the faith”, before emphatically stating “I’m not retiring, casuals”.
What do you think is next for Tony Ferguson after UFC 296?