"This is sad" - Fans react as Tony Ferguson changes his mind about retirement seconds after leaving the octagon

Fans recently expressed their thoughts on Tony Ferguson's decision to withdraw his retirement plans seconds after exiting the octagon. This came after Ferguson reluctantly declared his semi-retirement from MMA after his eighth consecutive octagon loss.

Ferguson made his return to the octagon in a welterweight bout against Michael Chiesa at UFC Abu Dhabi this past Saturday. However, that didn't go well for the former interim lightweight champion, as he was submitted by Chiesa in the opening round of their bout.

In his interview with Daniel Cormier following the fight, Ferguson placed one glove on the octagon mat. The 40-year-old acknowledged that he didn't want to retire, but he also stated that he didn't want to fight for other promotions, saying:

"I don't want to retire, I really don't, but I love the UFC, and I don't want to go anywhere else. So I'm not going to put both gloves down. I'm gonna put one. And I'm gonna keep the other one just in case. I'm going to go home, I'm going to talk to my wife, I'm going to give my kids a big a** hug, I'm going to enjoy the rest of the stay here in Abu Dhabi."

Check out Tony Ferguson's after-fight comments below:

However, Ferguson was seen walking backstage, indicating that it was not the time to retire. He said:

''It ain't time. I got sh*t to work on''

Check out the post below:

Fans soon rushed to the comments section to share their reactions.

One fan wrote:

''This is sad. Of course he wants to keep going. He’s a fighter. The truth is he should’ve been done 3-4 fights ago''

Another fan stated:

''Legend of the sport''

Other fans wrote:

''Hold on brother I’m crying''

''Bare knuckle tony''

Check out more fan reactions below:

Screenshot of fan reactions to UFC's post on X