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Tony Ferguson has emphatically brushed aside any notion of retirement.
Once hailed as the fearsome standout of the lightweight division, 'El Cucuy' was on an impressive streak of 12 consecutive wins, clinching the interim championship en route.
However, his fortunes took a turn when he lost to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 in May 2020, putting an end to his unbeaten run. Now, Ferguson finds himself matching the promotion's undesirable record for the lengthiest losing streak, a feat he shares with former two-division titleholder BJ Penn, at seven straight losses.
After his unanimous decision defeat to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296 last December, Ferguson encountered pressure from a faction of the MMA community, including UFC CEO Dana White, to consider retiring from the sport.
During his recent appearance on JAXXON PODCAST, 'El Cucuy' dismissed retirement talk and vowed to keep fighting until he's physically incapable. He said:
"I’m already a f**king Hall of Famer, man. They already f**king know it. I’m not retiring. Any time I get hurt, I come back with a f**king vengeance because, like I said, you get that slap in the face in order to do it because the only person that’s gonna do it for us is ourselves. Nobody’s gonna tell us what the f**k to do."
He added:
"I’m going to fight until the wheels fall off. F**k retiring, dude. If you’re a competitor for the longest time — I’m a three-sport athlete."
Check out Tony Ferguson's comments below (1:01:34):
The 40-year-old American's most recent victory came at UFC 238 in June 2019, where he triumphed over Donald Cerrone. Ferguson currently holds a professional record of 26-10, including 13 victories via KO/TKO and 8 by way of submission.
Tony Ferguson alleges Khabib Nurmagomedov's team harassed his family
Tony Ferguson recently alleged that Khabib Nurmagomedov's team surrounded his family ahead of their anticipated showdown.
Ferguson and Nurmagomedov, esteemed figures in the sport, were on the brink of a monumental clash on several occasions, only to have fate consistently intervene and disrupt their plans.
The third time the bout had been booked was when it was scheduled for UFC 209 in March 2017, and was abruptly canceled just one day before the event due to weight management issues attributed to 'The Eagle.' This cancellation also marked a significant personal twist in their rivalry.
In the same podcast, 'El Cucuy' revealed that leading up to their interim lightweight title bout, Nurmagomedov's team confronted his family at the host hotel:
"Khabib's team surrounded my family when we were checking in. They surrounded us, and I said, 'Hey look, I'll take five of these motherf**kers.' So they ended up leaving, and we ended up going to a different spot."
Check out Tony Ferguson's comments below:
