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During the post-fight press conference after the electric UFC 278 pay-per-view, Dana White confirmed that former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson will be fighting Li Jingliang in his next outing.
The promotion's president revealed that 'El Cucuy' will be taking on 'The Leech' in a welterweight clash at UFC 279 next month.
Watch Dana White talk about Ferguson's next fight below:
Tony Ferguson has definitely seen better days in the organization. Once on a twelve-fight win streak with the UFC lightweight division, the 38-year-old is currently on a four-fight skid.
In his last outing at UFC 274, Ferguson was brutally knocked out by Michael Chandler early in the second round with a vicious front-kick to the face.
'El Cucuy's opponent Li Jingliang suffered a first-round submission loss against Khamzat Chimaev last year at UFC 267. 'The Leech' returned to winning ways in his last fight at UFC on ABC 3 with a TKO win against Muslim Salikhov.
Tony Ferguson is training at Jackson-Wink MMA ahead of his return
In an interview with MMA Junkie after his knockout loss to Michael Chandler at UFC 274, former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson discussed the option of training at an established gym for his next fight.
'El Cucuy' said that for a very long time he had chosen to train with a select group of individuals rather than be a part of a fully fledged team. The 38-year old further addressed that he now feels the need to be a part proper team going forward:
"I’ve had ‘Pit Master’ reach out to me – John Hackleman, You have Jackson-Wink, as well... You have many, many people. But I haven’t put myself out there... I put myself away from the teams thinking I could do this by myself. And I did it. I’ve done this by myself for a very long time with the help of a select few individuals, and I’ve been very fortunate to have that. But I’m ready to be part of a team again... I have to open myself up again to being coached at a high level."
Watch Tony Ferguson's interview with MMA Junkie below:
In a recent post on the fighter's Instagram, 'El Cucuy' confirmed his team switch by posting a photo with Jackson-Wink MMA coach Brandon Gibson.
Jackson-Wink MMA is home to top MMA athletes like former UFC women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm and UFC strawweight Michelle Waterson. Former light heavyweight champion Jon Jones remains the biggest name to come out of the gym, but 'Bones' has since switched camps as well.
