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Tony Ferguson looking past Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296, plans on fighting Conor McGregor in 2024

Tony Ferguson sees his next opponent, Paddy Pimblett, as nothing more than a stepping stone to a showdown with Irish megastar Conor McGregor. Riding a six-fight losing streak, many thought Tony Ferguson’s last defeat at the hands of ‘King’ Bobby Green in July would send ‘El Cucuy’ quietly into retirement. We now know that won’t […]

Tony Ferguson sees his next opponent, Paddy Pimblett, as nothing more than a stepping stone to a showdown with Irish megastar Conor McGregor.

Riding a six-fight losing streak, many thought Tony Ferguson’s last defeat at the hands of ‘King’ Bobby Green in July would send ‘El Cucuy’ quietly into retirement. We now know that won’t be the case as the former interim lightweight champion is scheduled for another go inside the Octagon this December. Helping to close out the promotion’s pay-per-view schedule, Ferguson will square off with UK fan favorite Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296.

Many fight fans were quick to condemn the UFC for booking a fighter on a six-fight losing streak against an opponent on a six-fight win streak, but according to Tony Ferguson, he’s already looking past ‘The Paddy’ and onto a long-desired scrap with Conor McGregor.

“I have nothing against the kid. Patrick seems like a pretty legit dude,” Ferguson said of Pimblett in an interview with ESPN. “He gets pretty big, his standup is okay, but his ground game is a lot better. I love fighting internationals. It’s cool, I love it. Going after Khabib for a long time and going after ‘McNuggets’, this is about as close as it’s going to get for right now. So as soon as we get through this dude, we’ll go after Conor if he’ll sign on the dotted line and get through USADA” (h/t BloodyElbow).

Being one win away from tying BJ Penn’s record for the most consecutive losses in UFC history, Tony Ferguson may be better served by focusing on the task at hand.

After touting his own return for the last year, McGregor no longer seems slated for a 2023 comeback after failing to re-enter the USADA testing pool for six months of required pre-fight screening. The Irishman has remained adamant that ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler will be his next opponent but with a laundry list of challengers lining up to win the Conor McGregor lottery, there’s no telling who the former two-division titleholder will face when (and if) he makes his return.

Tony Ferguson reveals Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC retirement affected him: ‘A little part of me left’

Failing to ever share the Octagon with former undisputed lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov during their respective UFC tenures, former interim titleholder, Tony Ferguson has candidly revealed a part of him “left” when the Russian retired from mixed martial arts back in 2020. Forever on a collision-course, Nurmagomedov and Ferguson failed to ever fight each other […]

Forever on a collision-course, Nurmagomedov and Ferguson failed to ever fight each other under the banner of the UFC, with freak injuries, weight-cut mishaps, and even a global pandemic seeing at least five officially penned pairings between the lightweight veteran scrapped ahead of mouth-watering matchups.

Retiring from mixed martial arts competition back in 2020, Nurmagomedov most recently landed a title unification win over former interim champion and common-foe, Justin Gaethje, submitting the symbolic BMF championship holder with a second round triangle choke.

As for Ferguson, the Oxnard veteran, who once shared a record-setting 12-fight winning run with American Kickboxing Academy staple, Nurmagomedov during his pomp, will attempt to snap a hugely disappointing six-fight losing skid at UFC 296 in December as he takes on Paddy Pimblett.

Tony Ferguson admits Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement affecting his career

And receiving encouragement to call time on his career with a loss to Liverpool contender, Pimblett in December, Ferguson has revealed that when Nurmagomedov called time on his undefeated career, a part of him “left” in tow.

“I know when Khabib (Nurmagomedov) left [MMA], a little part of me left with that,” Tony Ferguson told MMA Fighting during a recent interview. “It kind of sucked a little bit because we’ve always have that, I don’t know – negative energy. But that hype that was built around that. And then when that disappeared and the pandemic hit and f*cking team left and then a whole bunch.”

In his most recent Octagon walk, Ferguson dropped a third round arm-triangle submission loss to Bobby Green at UFC 291 in July, suffering his sixth straight loss.

Can Tony Ferguson snap his losing skid at UFC 296 in December

Tony Ferguson claims loss to Bobby Green came after he tried to land a new move called ‘The Boogeyman’

Tony Ferguson revealed that his recent loss to ‘King’ Bobby Green came after the former interim lightweight champ attempted to hit a brand new move on his opponent. UFC 291 saw ‘El Cucuy’ suffer his sixth-straight loss inside the Octagon, dropping a third-round submission to Bobby Green in the waning seconds of their scrap in […]

Tony Ferguson revealed that his recent loss to ‘King’ Bobby Green came after the former interim lightweight champ attempted to hit a brand new move on his opponent.

UFC 291 saw ‘El Cucuy’ suffer his sixth-straight loss inside the Octagon, dropping a third-round submission to Bobby Green in the waning seconds of their scrap in Salt Lake City. Speaking with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Tony Ferguson revealed that the loss came only after he had attempted to bust out a new move that ended up backfiring on him.

“I put myself underneath him when I shouldn’t have, didn’t take his ground and pound serious when I was doing it. I was hitting a new move, it wasn’t an iminari. Everybody’s like ‘Oh, he’s not as fast.’ Nah, I was trying to do a different one. I call it ‘The Boogeyman’. I’ll just explain it right now, I shoot underneath the guy’s legs and then I end up taking his back from underneath the bottom position and I didn’t do that” (h/t MMA News).

Even if Tony Ferguson had survived the final seconds of the third round, he still would have left the Delta Center with another loss as the scorecards revealed he was already down on two out of three going into the final five minutes.

Tony Ferguson Claims Multiple Eye Pokes Compromised Him Against Bobby Green

‘El Cucuy’ has also blamed his latest loss on what he believes to have been an intentional eye poke from Bobby Green. Ferguson echoed similar sentiments during his conversation with Okamoto, saying:

“Before that, I kept getting poked in the eye which was kind of sh*t. I mean it f*cking hurt and the doctor kept getting in the way. I’m sitting here tryna get my composure back and I’m looking at Bobby. I’m looking at him in the face so that way I can see his breathing and the more time I took, the more composed that he started getting.

It was kind of like a lose-lose situation where it’s like okay cool but I’m not gonna take a no contest, that never even phased my mind like ‘Get the f*ck outta her doc, we got some work to do.’

Many fight fans expected Tony Ferguson to hang up his gloves following the loss to Green. Instead, ‘El Cucuy‘ will step back inside the Octagon for the promotion’s final pay-per-view of the year, UFC 296. On that night, Ferguson is scheduled for a showdown with fast-rising UK standout Paddy Pimblett, a fight that has drawn the ire of many fight fans.

If Ferguson takes another L, as many suspect he will, the ex-interim champ will tie BJ Penn’s record for the most consecutive losses in UFC history.

Brendan Schaub claims Paddy Pimblett is a ‘Winnable’ fight for Tony Ferguson at UFC 296: ‘He’s been hit’

Brendan Schaub backs booking of Paddy Pimblett Vs. Tony Ferguson amid backlash over Pimblett Vs. Ferguson is the perfect example of an older fighter being fed to the up-and-comer to capitalise on name value to younger athlete to put them over. The booking may be a little blatant considering the pairs recent performance, but these […]

Brendan Schaub backs booking of Paddy Pimblett Vs. Tony Ferguson amid backlash over

Pimblett Vs. Ferguson is the perfect example of an older fighter being fed to the up-and-comer to capitalise on name value to younger athlete to put them over. The booking may be a little blatant considering the pairs recent performance, but these kinds of matchups have and always will be a part of the cruel cycle of combat sports.

It is very rare that a fighter that will escape young and dangerous opponent in the latter stages of their careers, especially when they are a recognisable name such as Ferguson.

Some of the MMA community have expressed there frustration with the fight being made.

Brendan Schaub defends matchmaking

Former heavyweight turned podcaster, Schaub, is often critical of the UFC and their CEO, Dana White, but came to the defence of their matmaking in this situation. His reasoning behind it is that while of the surface it may appear to be a big mismatch, it actually could be a winnable fight for Ferguson considering Pimblett’s performances in the Octagon.

“Finally. Finally, Tony gets a winnable fight,” Schaub said via his YouTube channel. “Not that it’s an easy fight, but look at his last seven fights. Bobby Green, he got submitted, that was a tough one. But Nate Diaz, which was short notice, Michael Chandler, (Beneil) Dariush, Charles Oliveira and Justin Gatheje. Before that, it was (Donald) Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Kevin Lee, (Rafael) Dos Anjos. What? Look at who he’s fighting.” (H/T MMA Junkie)

Continuing, Schaub questioned Pimblett’s last performance (a controversial win over Jared Gordon) and his defence going into a fight with a puncher such as Ferguson

“My question for anybody going, ‘Oh, I see what the UFC is doing with this. It’s clear as day. They’re just feeding this young lion to Tony Ferguson,’” Schaub continued. “My question for you guys is: Do you really think Paddy Pimblett won his last fight? Most don’t. He’s probably coming off a loss against Jared Gordon. Before that, the only people Paddy has beat was Jordan Leavitt, (Rodrigo) Vargas.

“They’re impressive fights, but he’s been hit in all those fights. … What aspect of MMA is Paddy Pimblett better at than Tony Ferguson? Striking? No. Grappling? No. Wrestling? No way.”

Brendan Schaub gives his his thoughts on Paddy Pimblett Vs. Tony Ferguson

Do you agree with Brendan Schaub?

Tony Ferguson backed to have ‘One more night’ and snap losing run in UFC 296 fight with Paddy Pimblett

Former interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson has been touted to potentially have “one more night” of success in him at UFC 296 in December, as he attempts to snap a six-fight losing run against Paddy Pimblett. Ferguson, a former interim lightweight champion under the banner of the Dana White-led organization, is slated to make his […]

Ferguson, a former interim lightweight champion under the banner of the Dana White-led organization, is slated to make his return at UFC 296 at the end of the year, taking on the returning lightweight contender, Pimblett.

Sidelined since July of this year, Ferguson suffered his sixth consecutive defeat, in the form of an eventual third round arm-triangle submission loss to veteran UFC Vegas 80 headliner, Bobby Green next month.

As for Pimblett, the Liverpool native and former undisputed featherweight Cage Warriors titleholder, has yet to feature since landing a hugely controversial unanimous decision win over Jared Gordon in December of last year.

And defending the matchmaking between Ferguson and Pimblett earlier this week, UFC CEO, Dana White claimed that while the former interim champion should consider calling time on his career with a loss at UFC 296, he believes he’s improved in recent losses.

Daniel Cormier claims Tony Ferguson can snap his losing skid at UFC 296

According to former two-weight UFC champion and Hall of Fame inductee, Daniel Cormier, Ferguson could pull a rabbit from the proverbial hat and snap his losing run to Pimblett in December.

“Is it as simple as he just needs one?” Daniel Cormier asked on his YouTube channel. “Because imagine what happens if Tony Ferguson beats Paddy Pimblett. He said before the last fight, I sat with him in the fighter meeting and Tony Ferguson said, ‘It’s going to be a fight right now, five more fights, I’m on the title.’ So, it’s not like he has lost that desire to fight. He has not lost the thought that he can be a world champion.

“I’m gonna tell you this right now, and this is the saying as old as time, fellas. Every great champion has one more night in him. We saw it with George Foreman when he beat Michael Moorer. He did not belong in the ring with Michael Moorer. We have seen so many great fighters have one great night, where if you close your eyes and you squint enough, they remind you of that person that was on that run.” (Transcribed by MMA Fighting)

Do you think Tony Ferguson can beat Paddy Pimbeltt at UFC 296 in December?

Dana White hopeful Tony Ferguson retires with UFC 296 loss to Paddy Pimblett: ‘That would be a wrap’

Dana White has claimed that he’s hopeful veteran former interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson would call time on his storied mixed martial arts career if he suffers a seventh consecutive loss at UFC 296 in December, as he defends his matchup against the surging, Paddy Pimblett. Ferguson, a former interim champion at the lightweight limit […]

Ferguson, a former interim champion at the lightweight limit under the banner of the UFC, is slated to return to the Octagon at UFC 296 in December, taking on the returning former Cage Warriors featherweight champion, Pimblett over the course of three rounds.

Last featuring at UFC 291 back in July in Salt Lake City, Utah, Tony Ferguson dropped a third round arm-triangle submission loss to Bobby Green, marking his sixth straight defeat since a 2019 doctor’s stoppage TKO win over Donald Cerrone.

And reacting to criticizm of the matchmaking between Ferguson and Pimblett, UFC CEO, White defended the matchup, praising Ferguson’s recent performances.

“I think a lot of people think that Paddy (Pimblett) is unproven, and I think a lot of people feel that Tony (Ferguson) isn’t in deep water like he’s been in, in his last several fights,” White told assembled media after the Contender Series. “I think the matchmaking and the timing on this fight is excellent and couldn’t be more perfect.”

“If you look at Tony’s last few fights that he’s fought, he looked damn good before the (Michael) chandler finish, and every fight that’s fought on the last two, three fights,” White explained. “He looked damn good right until the end. So, it’s fun, interesting fight with two fun and interesting characters.”

Tony Ferguson expected to retire with UFC 296 loss to Paddy Pimblett

However, according to White, Ferguson should really consider calling time on his career should he slump to a seventh straight loss in his return against Pimblett.

“I would let Tony make that decision, but I’m sure if he loses to Paddy, he would probably look at calling it,” White explained. “He’s had a great career. Done a lot of things, had a lot of big fights. That would probably be a wrap for him. Hopefully.”

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