Why is Tony Ferguson called 'El Cucuy'? Exploring UFC star's nickname origin

UFC veteran and former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson has one of the most interesting and unique nicknames in combat sport.

Ferguson is famously known by the name 'El Cucuy' amongst fans across the world and the name is inspired by his Mexican heritage. The term 'El Cucuy' is a creature in Mexican lore who is likened to a boogeyman or a scary monster.

In his own words, Tony Ferguson explained the origins of his iconic nickname in an interview from 2017, ahead of his UFC 216 headliner against Kevin Lee. His nickname was given to him by his first trainer:

“It’s a scary figure man, it is what it is. My first trainer he tells me, 'You look like the boogeyman, like El Cucuy.' And funny cause it’s because it brings back the heritage, people try too hard for them to realize I am Mexican, my last name is Ferguson. My coach he says, 'Alright man you look like El Cucuy, you look like the boogeyman, you got the crazy ears. You got some long a** arms, you got big old hands.'”

He also joked about frightening kids with his nickname:

“These kids next door they were training misbehaving and he was telling them like, 'Hey you better watch out or I’m gonna stick that guy on you, he’s El Cucuy, he’s your worst nightmare, worse than the boogyman,' it fits perfect.”

Check out Tony Ferguson's full comments in the video below:

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Tom Aspinall backs younger Paddy Pimblett against veteran Tony Ferguson

UFC interim heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall weighed in on the upcoming fight between Tony Ferguson and the streaking Paddy Pimblett. The two will take on each other in the closing pay-per-view of the year at UFC 296 on December 16.

Ferguson is on a career-worst six-fight losing streak, while his opponent has enjoyed a winning start to life inside the UFC octagon. Pimblett's compatriot Aspinall backed him to win the fight in a recent interview by citing his youthful energy and better form:

"I think Paddy should win this fight. I think Paddy is younger, he is fresher! Tony Ferguson’s got a lot of miles on the clock and I think that that’s going to show in this fight. I think Paddy’s younger and fresher. Paddy’s got a strange style to cope with and as does Tony, to be fair! It’s hard to prepare for both guys but I think just Paddy being younger and fresher and I believe Tony’s on like a six-fight losing streak, is it? Yeah, I’ll definitely back Paddy on this one."

Check out Tom Aspinall's full comments below: