One of the UFC’s most promising lightweight prospects is quickly approaching the biggest fight of his career, when No. 3-ranked Tony ‘El Cucuy’ Ferguson takes on former 155-pound king Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale (TUF Latin America 3 Finale).
Ferguson recently spoke to Yahoo Sports to discuss the upcoming match-up with ‘RDA’, who could possibly get his first opportunity at UFC gold soon after a potential win, an accomplishment that will certainly bring in a lot more money for the new 32-year-old father.
When it comes to the financial benefits of being champion, however, Ferguson isn’t too concerned with the extra money it could bring in at the moment, as Californian states he’s doing just fine in terms of money :
“It does [bring along a lot more money], but I’m not hurting,” he said. “My wife has a great job. I have a great, phenomenal job. And you know what? Even if I were to walk away right now and go into the contracting business, I’d probably make more money than I am right now. The best thing about it is, I’m able to support myself in many more ways than one.
“I don’t know how many fighters would even do that. I don’t need to keep my name out there by talking [expletive] and by trying to bring myself down to their level. My interviews are pretty much heated all the time, only because when people give me those questions, I’m a blue-chip athlete. I’m a blue-chip athlete who comes from an academic background. I use my head. I’m not just a knucklehead.”
Winning the UFC title doesn’t seem to be on the top of Ferguson’s to-do list, as his main focus now is to earn his black belt from 10th Planet jiu-jitsu instructor Eddie Bravo, and rack up as many super fights as he possibly can:
“If my concern was getting a shot at the belt as soon as possible, I’d probably be [angry],” he said. “I’m more interested in receiving my black belt from Eddie Bravo’s 10th Planet jiu-jitsu system than the UFC belt right now. The [UFC] belt is tarnished, man. I feel like the belt has been in so many different hands, it’s so polluted. It needs to be recycled by the time I get there.
“I think everybody wants me to get the title, but for me, I don’t do what everybody else wants me to do. I’m a leader, not a follower, man. I’m a super fighter. I create super fights. The people who actually give me the righteous fights are the ones who are going to be the best for me, give or take whether it’s a title fight. I really don’t give a [expletive]. I really don’t.”
Although ‘El Cucuy’ may compete in the UFC’s lightweight division, he also feels he is the pound-for-pound best combatant at the promotion’s featherweight and welterweight classes as well:
“My interviews and the way I talk, it might not be the most savvy, but I’m not here to do that,” he said. “We’re swimming in the shark tank and I’m a hammerhead in here. These other dudes are guppies. With that being said, my skill set is too complete for these guys.
“It’s hard to say, and I hate to put it into words, I’m the best pound-for-pound [fighter] in this [lightweight] division, as well as the one before it [featherweight] and the one after it [welterweight]. I guarantee it.”
Dos Anjos and Ferguson will meet in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America Season 3 Finale live on FS1, from the Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico on November 5, 2016.
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