Tag: Tony Ferguson

Kevin Lee Targets Return Against Tony Ferguson

Kevin Lee is looking to run things back with Tony Ferguson. After Lee suffered a submission loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC Brasilia, he said he wanted to take some time off. Although the goal was to still train, he ended up tearing both his knees and …

Kevin Lee is looking to run things back with Tony Ferguson. After Lee suffered a submission loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC Brasilia, he said he wanted to take some time off. Although the goal was to still train, he ended up tearing both his knees and needing double knee surgery. He was forced to […]

Kevin Lee Believes Summer Fight With Tony Ferguson Makes Sense

Lee FergusonKevin Lee believes a rematch with Tony Ferguson makes sense for both fighters. Lee is coming off a third-round submission defeat to Charles Oliveira in March last year. Ferguson, meanwhile, is also coming off a loss to Oliveira as he was outpointed by the Brazilian in December which followed a TKO defeat to Justin Gaethje […]

Lee Ferguson

Kevin Lee believes a rematch with Tony Ferguson makes sense for both fighters.

Lee is coming off a third-round submission defeat to Charles Oliveira in March last year. Ferguson, meanwhile, is also coming off a loss to Oliveira as he was outpointed by the Brazilian in December which followed a TKO defeat to Justin Gaethje in May.

Of course, both Ferguson and Lee fought each other back in October 2017 for the interim lightweight title that saw the former come out on top.

And just over three years on, Lee — who is currently recovering from two surgeries — is looking to run things back again in the summer.

“That’s what they do in boxing – you ease your way back in. But the way I’m feeling, I don’t think it’s necessary,” Lee told MMA Junkie. “I’m going to fight Tony Ferguson. I think that fight makes sense from all angles. I don’t see anybody else that’s out there for him to fight.

“It just makes sense and it puts us back where it should be. A fight with me and him is going to kind of show one of us has to win, one of us is going to have to leave. So that’s a fight that interests me this summer. We’ll see what he talking about on his end, but he’s No. 1 in my book.”

It should be noted that Lee is currently No. 12 in the lightweight rankings while Ferguson is still No. 5.

It wouldn’t make sense for Ferguson to fight someone that low in the rankings as he will undoubtedly be looking to fight someone else in the top six at the very least.

However, crazier things have happened in the past.

Do you want to see the rematch?

Khabib Nurmagomedov On Tony Ferguson: Impossible Be An Elite Lightweight At 37

Nurmagomedov FergusonKhabib Nurmagomedov believes it’s impossible for Tony Ferguson or any other lightweight to be considered elite at 37 years of age. Justin Gaethje recently made headlines when he stated his belief that he never considered Ferguson to be an elite lightweight during the latter’s impressive 12-fight winning streak. Now Nurmagomedov has followed his lead though […]

Nurmagomedov Ferguson

Khabib Nurmagomedov believes it’s impossible for Tony Ferguson or any other lightweight to be considered elite at 37 years of age.

Justin Gaethje recently made headlines when he stated his belief that he never considered Ferguson to be an elite lightweight during the latter’s impressive 12-fight winning streak.

Now Nurmagomedov has followed his lead though he specifically spoke of Ferguson today as he mentioned his age.

“Maybe that would be Tony Ferguson [a fight where a win would erase all doubts], but I swear that I never considered him as an elite lightweight,” Nurmagomedov said speaking to Russian heavyweight Magomed Ismailov (via Middle Easy). “He was very good, but I never counted him so, because it’s impossible to be an elite at 37 years. It’s never been before and even Khabib cannot do this. At 37 years in the lightweight division, no way, but heavyweights can. It’s my opinion and you cannot change it.

“Secondly, since 2016 he fought Kevin Lee, [Edson] Barboza, [Anthony] Pettis, and [Donald] Cerrone and these four fighters have 20 losses for these four years. It means that since 2016 he didn’t fight good fighters. But now, he faced young and top fighters, I mean Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje. They outclassed him, you saw this. Both fighters just dominated Tony. I was just dreaming about this fight. But it wasn’t destined, we had injuries in a row.”

It’s certainly fair to say that the present day Ferguson — currently on a two-fight losing streak — may not be elite anymore.

However, for Gaethje to state that he was never elite? That’s pushing it a bit too far considering how the entire combat sports world was eagerly anticipating a Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson fight for the best part of four years.

Regardless, do you agree with Nurmagomedov?

Khabib Nurmagomedov Claims He Never Viewed Tony Ferguson As An ‘Elite’ Lightweight

KhabibIt’s arguably the most-wanted matchup in the history of the UFC that’s ultimately failed to come to fruition, not for the want of trying, however.  Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson were paired together on a staggering five separate occasions — and on each of those attempted matchups, injuries, weight-cutting issues, and most recently, complications amid […]

Khabib

It’s arguably the most-wanted matchup in the history of the UFC that’s ultimately failed to come to fruition, not for the want of trying, however. 

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson were paired together on a staggering five separate occasions — and on each of those attempted matchups, injuries, weight-cutting issues, and most recently, complications amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic prevented the two from ever setting foot inside the Octagon together. 

Viewed as two of the most dominant lightweight talents the division has ever had, as recently as April and then May of last year, Khabib and Ferguson, who were both riding, division-tying twelve-fight unbeaten streaks were paired together. With undisputed lightweight title spoils up for grabs — communications between Khabib and UFC officials seen the matchup scuppered as the Russian travelled home amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, with travel restrictions preventing his re-entry to the United States.

Nine months later, the potential matchup of two of the greatest lightweight forces in the history of the sport is dead and buried. Khabib has since announced his retirement from professional mixed martial arts, following the sad passing of his father and renowned coach, Abdulmanap — despite the best efforts of Dana White to entice him to make a comeback, with his last outing coming at UFC 254 in October where he unified the 155-pound crowns with a triangle win over Justin Gaethje.

Former interim champion, Ferguson has since lost two on the trot, in quite surprising, dominant fashion. Dropping a fifth round knockout loss to Gaethje in a damaging affair, the Oxnard native then suffered a one-sided unanimous judging defeat to the streaking, Charles Oliveira in December last.

Despite previously noting his intrigue in a matchup against Ferguson, whom he once claimed was “one of the best in the world” and how his legacy wouldn’t be complete without a matchup against the Californian, Khabib recently claimed that he never considered Ferguson to be of an elite standard at lightweight.

“Maybe that would be Tony Ferguson, but I swear that I never considered him as an elite lightweight,” Khabib said during a recent sitdown with Magomed Ismailov. “He was very good, but I never counted him so, because it’s impossible to be an elite at 37 years (old).“

“It’s never been before and Khabib cannot do this. At 37 years (old) in the lightweight division, no way, but heavyweights can. It’s my opinion and you cannot change it. Secondly, since 2016 he fought Kevin Lee, Edson Barboza, Anthony Pettis, and Donald Cerrone and these four fighters have twenty losses for these four years (combined). It means that since 2016 he didn’t have good fighters.“

“But now, he faced young and top fighters, I mean Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje. They outclassed him, you saw this. Both fighters just dominated Tony. I was just dreaming about this fight. But it wasn’t destined, we had injuries in a row.“

Tony Ferguson & Justin Gaethje Have Heated Social Media Exchange

Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje are still exchanging blows nine months after their bout was stopped at UFC 249. For the first time in his MMA career, Tony Ferguson is on a two-fight losing streak. This has not gone unnoticed by anybody who has followe…

Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje are still exchanging blows nine months after their bout was stopped at UFC 249. For the first time in his MMA career, Tony Ferguson is on a two-fight losing streak. This has not gone unnoticed by anybody who has followed Ferguson’s Hall of Fame UFC career, including his remarkable run […]

Tony Ferguson Hits Out At Justin Gaethje Over ‘Elite Lightweight’ Comments, Gaethje Responds

FergusonTony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje’s rivalry is still not over. Gaethje recently made some surprising comments where he stated his belief that Ferguson was never an elite lightweight and was surprised that other opponents weren’t able to defeat him during his 12-fight winning streak. “I mean, Tony has always been that man,” Gaethje said. “Guys constantly […]

Ferguson

Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje’s rivalry is still not over.

Gaethje recently made some surprising comments where he stated his belief that Ferguson was never an elite lightweight and was surprised that other opponents weren’t able to defeat him during his 12-fight winning streak.

“I mean, Tony has always been that man,” Gaethje said. “Guys constantly went in there and fought in the chaos and refused to create space. I don’t know why, [Anthony] Pettis and [Donald] Cerrone, these guys weren’t able to do what I did. But I think that was there the whole time.

“Fans not being there really helped, stayed focus, keep everything internal. That’s a huge factor when you’re fighting Tony because just his face alone makes you wanna fight. I don’t think he’s done by any means, I just don’t think he’s an elite lightweight. I don’t think he ever was. I just think his skills were really effective in the way people were fighting him.”

Those comments certainly caught Ferguson’s attention as he took to Twitter to respond on Saturday night. He also took aim at Charles Oliveira though it’s not clear why.

“I’ll Give You Elite, F*ck??You @Justin_Gaethje & @CharlesDoBronxsYou Didn’t Finish Sh*t. Told You I’d See You Soon. Crew?Much Easier To See The Targets When They Are In Front. Beyond?Disciplined. New Camp, New Times -Champ ?? -CSO- ?????@CervezaMontejoThisIsForLaRaza?”

It didn’t take long for Gaethje to respond.

“Charles couldn’t finish you but I certainly did. Check the tape champ.”

For now, Ferguson needs to return to the win column as he is currently on a two-fight losing streak. But if that is what ends up happening, perhaps him and Gaethje will run things back at some point.

What do you make of their exchange?