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Tony Ferguson is a legendary lightweight and among the few fighters on the UFC roster whose name is known to the casual MMA fanbase. Unfortunately, the former interim lightweight champion is no longer the fighter he once was, having gone from being on a 12-fight win streak to now losing six in a row.
That, however, doesn't mean that Ferguson hasn't maintained his usual intensity during training. In fact, he has only ramped up his training, venturing to different gyms and working under the guidance of new coaches in an effort to recapture the magic of days past. According to Vinc Pichel, his intensity borders on the extreme.
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During an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda's James Lynch, Vinc Pichel, who is also a UFC lightweight, spoke about a particular sparring session with the former interim champion that grew exceptionally tense. The exact details of which, he divulged (at 9:56 minutes) when explaining why he dislikes Tony Ferguson:
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"I tell him, 'Hey, I'm just coming back from a neck injury. Whatever you do, just don't do anything that’s gonna tweak my neck with a kimura.' First thing this piece of sh*t does is he gets a kimura then he continues to scissor me across my neck and just squeeze it as hard as he can. Not even touching the kimura, just squeezing my neck as hard as he can. I started cussing. I think I punched him in the f**king d*ck or something to get him to let go."
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that Tony Ferguson's conduct as a training partner has been called into question. Ahead of his loss to Beneil Dariush, the former interim champion bragged about breaking one of his student's ribs by slamming them, which prompted Dariush to question his reasoning for doing so.
Tony Ferguson's upcoming matchup with Paddy Pimblett
UFC 296 will close out the year as 2023's final pay-per-view. Among the fights featured is a lightweight clash between Tony Ferguson and Paddy Pimblett. While Ferguson is the highest-profile opponent Pimblett has faced, he is not the Ferguson of old that once struck terror in the hearts of his fellow lightweights.
Ferguson has undergone a massive decline, so some have accused the matchup of being deliberately setup to award Pimblett a guaranteed win. However, the former interim lightweight champion has expressed excitement over the bout, as he simply wants to compete against the biggest names he can get.
