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Apart from the biggest fight in MMA history, UFC 229 hosted a grueling battle of attrition between Tony Ferguson and Anthony Pettis in the co-main event. Both fighters left a piece of themselves in the UFC octagon. Splatters of blood reached the front-row seats. And UFC commentator Jon Anik's blood-stained shirt is a reminder of the nature of that fight.
Anik shared a short video of his blood-stained shirt on Twitter and rekindled the memories of the back-and-forth battle:
"Tony Ferguson Fight Week alert. This is the shirt from his bloodbath vs Anthony Pettis in 2018. Never been doused with that much blood during a fight... before or since. Liked it," Jon Anik tweeted.
Here's Anik's tweet:
The UFC title has eluded Tony Ferguson for his entire career despite having amassed one of the longest winning streaks in the lightweight division. El Cucuy came closest to the title when he defeated Kevin Lee to become the interim UFC lightweight champion in 2017. However, an unfortunate injury forced Ferguson out of the undisputed title fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov in April 2018.
Khabib's crowning as the champion and Conor McGregor's return to the UFC pushed Ferguson out of the title picture. Intent on getting back to the title, Ferguson agreed to fight Anthony Pettis on the undercard of UFC 229: Khabib vs McGregor and won the fight via TKO at the end of round 2.
Tony Ferguson will attempt to get back in the win column at UFC 262
Tony Ferguson was considered a nightmare matchup for retired champion Khabib Nurmagomedov for the longest time. The pair were scheduled to fight multiple times in their UFC career but the bout never materialized.
Ferguson's loss to Justin Gaethje in May 2020 and Khabib's retirement in October of the same year permanently ended the possibility of a dream fight. Another loss against Charles Oliveira at UFC 256 has pushed El Cucuy out of title contention once again.
Tony Ferguson will attempt to get back in the win column at UFC 262 after suffering the first consecutive losses of his career. El Cucuy will fight No.9 ranked Beneil Dariush in the co-main event of UFC 262 on May 15.
At 37 years of age, Tony Ferguson does not have time on his side to amass another long winning streak and present his case for a title shot. However, Ferguson has a considerable fan following and good enough standing in the division to get himself into a title fight with a win or two.
