Interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson is always looking forward and that’s part of the reason he’s in the position he’s in now.
If Ferguson is able to defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov at the upcoming UFC 223 pay-per-view event then a fight with Conor McGregor would make logical sense.
However, that’s not the case if it’s up to Ferguson, who recently told the media that he would rather fight former UFC middleweight and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.
“Conor who?” Ferguson asked the media today in Los Angeles (transcript courtesy of MMA Junkie). “I mean, the guy’s not in the picture. Straight up. I mean, bless his heart. He’s made his money. He’s doing his thing. He’s got an education for his kid. That’s what we all want, right?”
“Conor, he’s influenced a lot of fighters,” Ferguson said. “That’s cool, man. That’s dope. But it’s taken a lot of work to get there. Not just (talking).
It’s taken work. You had to earn it. …. With that much loot, what are you going to do now? Are you going to go back to a sport where you have to bleed? No. Take care of yourself, man. Really, go do your thing.”
St-Pierre is one of the most decorated fighters in UFC history. Also, he’s only the fourth fighter in UFC history to win belts in two weight classes.
St-Pierre returned to competition in November after four years away from the sport to win the middleweight title with a submission victory in the third round over Michael Bisping at UFC 217. Now, he is on the sidelines as he deals with colitis.
“If you have to hype it up, and you want to come back because that’s the sport and the athlete in you – the guy that I met at Paradigm Sports when I shook his hand and I said, ‘You better stay at 145 because at ’55, we’re going to have problems,’ he’s nowhere to be found. Straight up. So, if he wants to come back, that’s great. But my concern is not him – it’s the next person in line.”
“GSP,” Ferguson said. “I mean, that’s what I signed up for in the beginning. I was 170 pounds; 155 was forced on me. One hundred and seventy pounds, where I have 12 fights.”
“A GSP match, I mean really, he wants a money fight, but he’s an athlete,” Ferguson said. “We all have to pay bills. You’ve got to pay your taxes. … 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 belt) starts losing its luster. It becomes tarnished.”
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