Tag: Tony+Ferguson

TUF 13 Champ Tony Ferguson Back to Lightweight, Fights Aaron Riley at UFC 135 in Denver

Filed under: UFCTony Ferguson, who won Season 13 of “The Ultimate Fighter” earlier this month, already has his next fight.

Ferguson, who beat Ramsey Nijem at the TUF 13 Finale in Las Vegas on June 4 with a first-round knockout, will face Aaron Riley …

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Tony Ferguson, who won Season 13 of “The Ultimate Fighter” earlier this month, already has his next fight.

Ferguson, who beat Ramsey Nijem at the TUF 13 Finale in Las Vegas on June 4 with a first-round knockout, will face Aaron Riley in a lightweight bout at UFC 135 on Sept. 24 in Denver. The UFC announced the fight booking on Twitter on Monday night.

Ferguson (11-2, 1-0 UFC) has won four straight fights, including his UFC debut victory over Nijem, which also netted him a $40,000 Knockout of the Night bonus to go along with his guaranteed UFC contract. That fight was at welterweight. Against Riley (30-12-1, 3-4 UFC), Ferguson will return to the lightweight division.

On Season 13 of TUF, Ferguson fought for coach Brock Lesnar’s team. The three wins Ferguson had in the TUF house to reach the live finale were all knockouts or TKOs. Those those three fights are not official, if counted he has seven straight TKO or KO victories. After taping for the season finished, Ferguson trained at Lesnar’s Death Clutch camp in Minnesota to prepare for his fight with Nijem.

Riley has been out of action for more than a year, since a unanimous decision win over Joe Brammer at UFC 114 in May 2010. Riley, an Indiana native, was expected to return at UFC 119 in Indianapolis last September, but pulled out of his fight with Pat Audinwood with an injury. When he returns in September, it will be after a 16-month layoff.

Riley, whose primary training home is with Greg Jackson’s camp in Albuquerque, N.M., is in his third stint with the UFC. He was one-and-done with losses to Robbie Lawler at UFC 37 and Spencer Fisher at Fight Night 3. Since returning at UFC 91, Riley has gone 3-2, but hasn’t put together consecutive wins. His three wins have all been by unanimous decision.

UFC 135 will take place at the Pepsi Center in Denver. It will be the promotion’s first trip to Colorado since the first UFC on Versus event in March 2010, which took place in the north Denver suburb of Broomfield. The UFC hasn’t been to Denver proper since UFC: The Ultimate Ultimate in December 1995. UFC 1 and UFC 2 also took place in Denver.

UFC 135 is expected to be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between champion Jon Jones, making his first defense, and former champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Also on the card, Hall of Famer and former welterweight champion Matt Hughes will face former lightweight title challenger Diego Sanchez.

 

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Falling Action: Best and Worst of TUF 13 Finale

Filed under: UFCI’ve always wondered what Ultimate Fighter winners do with their cut-glass trophies. It looks like something you might get for being the most improved player on a high school water polo team, so I’d be surprised if too many recipients h…

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I’ve always wondered what Ultimate Fighter winners do with their cut-glass trophies. It looks like something you might get for being the most improved player on a high school water polo team, so I’d be surprised if too many recipients have it displayed prominently in their homes.

I keep expecting to see one show up on Ebay, but then who would buy it? I have no idea, but maybe Tony Ferguson will get a chance to find out. He’s our latest reality show winner, joining a diverse group that has had wildly varied post-grad results.

So what does Ferguson’s win mean, and how far has Anthony Pettis fallen after putting his title shot on the line against Clay Guida? The answers to those questions and more await you, as we sort through the biggest winners, losers, and everything in between after the TUF 13 Finale.

Biggest Winner: Clay Guida
Any lightweight who has ever considered a strategy that involves tiring Guida out only needs to look at him bouncing around in the post-fight interview after three hard rounds to know what a bad idea that is. Against Pettis, Guida showed that a non-stop motor and a wealth of quality experience to draw upon is sometimes all you need to get your hand raised. The decision victory was Guida’s 29th win and his 40th pro fight overall. Even Guida would probably agree that Jim Miller deserves to be ahead of him in line for a crack at the belt, but “The Carpenter” is definitely in the conversation now. What he lacks in sheer talent, he makes up for with work ethic and a willingness to get right in your face and stay there all night. How can you not root for a guy like that?

Biggest Loser: Anthony Pettis
Pettis gets this distinction less for his performance than for what it cost him. He didn’t fight poorly, but all it took was fifteen minutes on a Saturday night for him to go from number one contender to the middle of a crowded pack. Not that it needs to be anything more than a minor setback in the long run. He’s young and has a lot of potential, but Guida showed us all that there are some holes in his game. Some of that is just inexperience. He caught a big break in the third round, yet couldn’t capitalize on it. It’s also possible that he’s trying to force those crowd-pleasing kicks a little too much, which resulted in more interesting misses than useful hits against Guida. He lost his title shot with the defeat, but it’s not the end of the world. If he uses it as a learning experience, this will be nothing more than a speed bump in a promising career.

Best Prospect: Tony Ferguson
He can wrestle and he can swat – a combination that makes him a man to be taken seriously. If we’ve learned anything from 13 seasons of TUF, however, it’s that winning the show is not quite the career-crowning achievement it’s made out to be. What it is, is a nice start for Ferguson and a chance to develop in the UFC with a little more slack than most new hires get. That’s why I wouldn’t recommend calling out guys like Amir Sadollah. While there are benefits to being proactive about matchmaking, the TUF winner usually gets to ease into the big time a little more gently. I don’t want to say he should expect an easy fight in his first post-TUF appearance. There aren’t many of those to be found in the UFC. But there are easier fights out there, and with them, a chance to get comfortable in the Octagon. Just because you’re a reality TV hero, it doesn’t mean the roads are all paved with gold now. Just ask Efrain Escudero.

Least Certain Future: Ramsey Nijem
He looked great on TUF, but all it took was one lunging left hook from Ferguson to stiffen him up like stale toast. He’s obviously got talent, but he also seems like he might not be quite ready for the UFC just yet. He’s now 4-2 in his career, and his most high profile wins were reality show exhibition bouts. He might still turn into a legitimate UFC fighter, but he’d better do it soon. It doesn’t take much to go from TUF finalist to TUF footnote. Just ask Kris McCray. And Vinny Magalhaes. And Luke Cummo. And…you know what? I think you get it.

Biggest Win Under Dire Circumstances: Ed Herman
After losing three of his last four and sitting out with a recurring knee injury for nearly two years, Herman was desperate for a big victory. Knocking out a tough opponent like Tim Credeur in less than a minute is a good way to get back on the map. Herman should consider it a temporary stay, and one possibly aided by the fact that Credeur had been out of action nearly as long as he had. Now Herman has to hope that he’s more successful in his comeback than he was before his initial injury.

Most Disturbing Trend: Ken Stone‘s recent KO’s
He was on the business end of a brutal slam knockout back in December, then got pounded out by Scott Jorgensen in the first round on Saturday night. Two scary knockouts in a row – all in a six-month span – is never good for your career prospects, but it’s even worse for your brain. While we still don’t know a ton about knockouts and long-term brain health, we do know that it’s a bad sign when a fighter keeps ending bouts asleep on the mat, especially when the knockouts start to come easier and easier. Maybe Stone could take some time off and reevaluate. Even if he doesn’t want to, it’s quite possible that the Zuffa contract axe will do it for him.

Most in Need of a Step Up in Competition: Kyle Kingsbury
The decision over Maldonado was his fourth straight victory in the UFC. Now that his skills have caught up to his size and natural athleticism, he seems like a guy who might actually go places in the light heavyweight division. It’s hard to know for sure though, since the UFC keeps giving him opponents who are all at roughly the same level. Jared Hamman, Ricardo Romero, Fabio Maldonado – all are tough guys, but it’s not exactly a steady climb in quality of competition. Now’s the time to throw Kingsbury into the deep water and find out if he can swim.

Least Convincing Effort: Josh Grispi
It’s strange to think that not so long ago, this guy was considered a credible challenger for Jose Aldo’s title. The fighter who showed up to face George Roop on Saturday looked like a man who would have preferred to be almost anywhere else. It’s never a good sign when your cornermen are all but begging you not to quit between rounds. He made it into the third, but just barely, and he didn’t need much encouragement to crumble up and collapse after Roop hammered him with a body shot. Any fighter is going to have his good nights and bad nights, but Grispi has fallen off hard lately. Might be time to sit down with his coaches and talk about what he’s really trying to accomplish here.

 

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Tony Ferguson Wins Season 13 of The Ultimate Fighter

Filed under: UFC, NewsWith a brutal knockout punch, Tony Ferguson knocked out Ramsey Nijem to win the 13th season of The Ultimate Fighter on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Ferguson landed a powerful left hook to Nijem’s chin to knock him down, then poun…

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With a brutal knockout punch, Tony Ferguson knocked out Ramsey Nijem to win the 13th season of The Ultimate Fighter on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Ferguson landed a powerful left hook to Nijem’s chin to knock him down, then pounced and landed another right hand before referee Josh Rosenthal jumped in to stop the fight. The official time of the stoppage was 3 minutes, 54 seconds of the first round.

“Holy crap, man,” Ferguson said when he watched the replay of the knockout punch. “I don’t remember even throwing that. I know he got me a couple times but I weathered the storm.”


It was a great showing by Ferguson, who in addition to having excellent striking power also looked better than expected in his wrestling: Ferguson took Nijem down and got on top of him just seconds into the first round, and overall it was Ferguson’s fight from start to finish.

The 23-year-old Nijem is a talented fighter who has a good future ahead of him in the UFC, but Saturday night was Ferguson’s night, and he looks like a hot young prospect for the UFC.

 

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TUF 13 Finale Weigh-In Results

Filed under: UFC, NewsLAS VEGAS – In what is always a more intimate weigh-ins affair than pay-per-view extravaganzas, all fighters made weight Friday for their fights at “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 13 Finale card at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Veg…

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LAS VEGAS – In what is always a more intimate weigh-ins affair than pay-per-view extravaganzas, all fighters made weight Friday for their fights at “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 13 Finale card at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

Main event fighters Ramsey Nijem and Tony Ferguson came in at 170 and 169 pounds, respectively. The two reached the finals of the current Season 13 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality competition, which taped earlier this spring. The episode showing their semifinal victories aired Wednesday.

And in an important bout for the UFC’s lightweight division, Clay Guida and Anthony Pettis each hit 155 pounds on the button. Pettis was the WEC’s last lightweight champion and was to get a shot at the UFC title after champion Frankie Edgar’s bout with Gray Maynard at UFC 125 in January. When that fight ended in a draw and a rematch was ordered, Pettis asked for Guida, who has won three straight – all by submission. Ed Herman and Tim Credeur return to the UFC following absences of nearly two years each due to injuries and illnesses. Herman, a TUF 3 cast member, has not fought since a UFC 102 loss in August 2009 to Aaron Simpson, in which he suffered a serious knee injury. Credeur has been on the shelf since a loss to Nate Quarry at Fight Night 19 in September 2009. Despite several booked fights since then, a foot injury and a scare following a routine brain scan has kept him out of action. Herman weighed 186; Credeur was 185.

TUF 13 cast member Chris Cope arrived to the stage to a mixed response from the several hundred fans in attendance. This season’s storylines saw him cast as one of the early villains, for lack of a better term, in the house. The trademark “Wooooo!” that he let out each morning, which set housemate Shamar Bailey off leading up to their quarterfinal fight, was on display when he took the stage. And his opponent, fellow TUF 13 contestant Chuck O’Neil, let out a playful “Wooooo!” of his own. The two smiled through their faceoff.

Down the card, in Saturday’s second preliminary card fight, Scott Jorgensen, just one fight removed from his co-main event bantamweight title fight against Dominick Cruz in December, hit 135 for his fight against American Top Team product Ken Stone, who was 136.

Complete weigh-in results are below.

Main Card
Ramsey Nijem (170) vs. Tony Ferguson (169)
Clay Guida (155) vs. Anthony Pettis (155)
Ed Herman (186) vs. Tim Credeur (185)
Kyle Kingsbury (206) vs. Fabio Maldonado (203)
Chris Cope (170) vs. Chuck O’Neil (170)
Preliminary Card
Jeremy Stephens (156) vs. Danny Downes (155)
Josh Grispi (145) vs. George Roop (146)
Shamar Bailey (171) vs. Ryan McGillivray (169)
Clay Harvison (171) vs. Justin Edwards (170)
Scott Jorgensen (135) vs. Ken Stone (136)
Reuben Duran (136) vs. Francisco Rivera (136)

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Ramsey Nijem Follows Friend Court McGee to ‘Ultimate Fighter’ Success

LAS VEGAS – If Season 13 of “The Ultimate Fighter” was a test for Ramsey Nijem, he certainly could have done worse than Court McGee as his study guide.

McGee, the Season 11 winner of the show, is a friend and training partner of Nijem, who fights in …

LAS VEGAS – If Season 13 of “The Ultimate Fighter” was a test for Ramsey Nijem, he certainly could have done worse than Court McGee as his study guide.

McGee, the Season 11 winner of the show, is a friend and training partner of Nijem, who fights in this season’s finale on Saturday. Watching McGee go through the same trials and tribulations in the house got him prepared for what he would have to face when his turn came.

Now things are going just about as planned, with one last hurdle to clear.

“I’m good friends with Court McGee, and when he went through the house I saw what he was able to accomplish,” Nijem said Thursday after a training session at The Palms, site of Saturday’s TUF 13 Finale. “I just took his advice and did what he did, and it’s had the same results so far.”

Nijem’s run through the Season 13 welterweight bracket has been as dominant as that of his Saturday opponent, Tony Ferguson. Ferguson finished his three fights on the show by knockout. Nijem, a member of coach Junior dos Santos’ team, had a pair of rear naked choke wins and a TKO in the semifinals.

But Nijem, who trains at John Hackelman’s Pit camp in California, as well as The Pit Elevated in Utah, believes his quarterfinal win over Clay Harvison, a quick first-round submission, was when he really believed this season’s title could be his for the taking.

“Once I finished that quarterfinal fight in under a minute, I felt like I made a statement there,” Nijem said. “I felt like I was going to win the show.”

Nijem also perhaps endeared himself to viewers with some of his antics on the show and a carefree attitude. Ferguson on Thursday implied Nijem’s on-screen personality was merely a persona: “It’s just an image – everybody’s got to stand out, I guess,” he said.

His “Stripper Ramsey” nickname came from his impromptu striptease on the show, and his allegiance to the TV show “Glee” also had housemates rolling their eyes. But Nijem said the goofy side of him has always been around.

“If you ask any of the guys on my team, they’ll say ‘That’s Ramsey,'” Nijem said. “Everyone’s like, ‘Your family, how do they feel about this?’ and they shake their head. My mom, I’ve been embarrassing her since I was born. So it’s just another opportunity for me to embarrass my mom. That’s what she expected. She was like, ‘At least you were yourself.’ My mom’s a fun person. Christmas Eve, we turn on the music and start having a dance party at Christmas. And clothes got off in the family living room. It’s just how me and my family are. We’re fun and we’re kinda wild.”

If Nijem is the feel-good story of this season’s finale, his opponent has set himself apart as the heel. A late-season outburst that brought housemate Charlie Rader’s family into play went too far, Nijem said.

At the end of the day, though, Nijem said his personal feelings for Ferguson don’t matter. He has a trophy and contract to win.

“He made an idiot of himself,” Nijem said. “He went out there and said some very inappropriate things about someone’s family, which is a line that you shouldn’t cross. I sensed that in the beginning, and I was always kind of wary about him and his true colors came out. But I’m not going to go in there and say, ‘I hate Tony and I’m going to kill him and F him’ and this and that. Tony’s an opponent and he’s in the way of my dream and that’s it. It doesn’t matter who’s across from me. I’ll fight the same way and with the same kind of attitude.”

Nijem and Ferguson fight in the main event of Saturday’s TUF 13 Finale at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas. The main card airs live on Spike TV at 9 p.m. Eastern and also features a lightweight bout between contenders Anthony Pettis and Clay Guida, plus the return of Tim Credeur and Ed Herman, who face each other after nearly two years off a piece due to injuries.

 

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Tony Ferguson Hopes to Change Fans’ Perception at TUF Finale

Filed under: UFCLAS VEGAS – Every season of “The Ultimate Fighter” has a villain. After the season, that villain usually wants to let the world know that he’s not really a villain, he just plays one – or is portrayed as one through editing – on TV.

T…

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LAS VEGAS – Every season of “The Ultimate Fighter” has a villain. After the season, that villain usually wants to let the world know that he’s not really a villain, he just plays one – or is portrayed as one through editing – on TV.

Tony Ferguson is the Season 13 villain, and on Thursday, two days ahead of his fight in the finale against Ramsey Nijem, he said he’s looking forward to making amends for his actions late in the season, when he was shown commenting about housemate Charlie Rader’s family situation, setting off this season’s biggest house brouhaha.

“I figured out a hell of a lot about myself, especially watching that episode,” Ferguson said Thursday after a workout at The Palms Casino Resort. “I figured out that’s not the kind of person I want to be. That’s not the example I want to set for kids. I said I wanted to make some changes, and I have.”

Ferguson (10-2) spent a month and a half training with Team Death Clutch, the famed camp run for former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar in Alexandria, Minn. Lesnar was Ferguson’s coach on the show, and Ferguson said it was the work he put in while on the show that led to Lesnar not only inviting him to Minnesota to train, but sponsoring him with his Death Clutch apparel brand.

“He saw something good in me,” Ferguson said. “You guys all know Brock – he ain’t gonna spend time with someone if he doesn’t want to. So he (and coach Marty Morgan) must have seen something good in me.”

That good, Ferguson believes, came not just from his performances on the show – three knockouts to reach the finals – but how he carried himself during training.

“If you’re doing your own thing, you’re doing the right thing,” Ferguson said. “I kept to myself, and Brock saw that and he saw that I didn’t need to be told exactly what to do. … When it was a wrap, Brock brought me into the room with coach Marty and kicked all the other guys out and said, ‘I don’t want you guys telling nobody (about training in Minnesota). This is just us.’ Brock allowed me to be inside his family group, and that was the coolest thing in the world. That guy is a role model like crazy, no matter what anybody says about Brock.”

When it comes to public perceptions, Ferguson might also look to Lesnar for advice. Lesnar was vilified even before he stepped foot in the UFC due to his WWE pro wrestling background. A post-victory speech at UFC 100 after a vicious win over Frank Mir also rubbed many fans the wrong way, forcing the star heavyweight to apologize, make some amends and at least reconsider his public persona.

Ferguson said having viewers of the show not like him after the last two episodes aired is new territory for him. And while he accepts the likelihood that Nijem will be the fan favorite for this fight, he thinks he can change things.

“This is the first time that people have been mad at me, which just adds more fuel to my fire,” Ferguson said. “But I don’t like that – I want to turn it around. That’s the biggest thing that Brock saw – that’s why he invited me.”

Ferguson will also be the betting underdog in the fight, coming in at +110 to Nijem’s -140, even though he has more than twice as much professional experience. At 10-2, nine of his pro wins have come by stoppage.

But Ferguson said he simply believes winning on Saturday is his destiny, and that he belongs “amongst the greatest.”

“I always want to be the underdog,” Ferguson said. “This is my time. I’ve been putting in my time day in and day out. I’ve had those office cubicles where everyone hates it, and nobody wants it – but nobody really does anything. They just settle for it. I don’t want to settle. This is exactly where I need to be. This is what I deserve, and I need to be the next Ultimate Fighter.”

Ferguson and Nijem fight in the main event of the TUF 13 Finale on Saturday at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas. The main card, which also features a lightweight contenders fight between Clay Guida and Anthony Pettis, airs live on Spike TV at 9 p.m. Eastern.

 

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