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Tony Ferguson isn't just a favorite among fans of MMA. He has strong support from legends of the sport, such as his former TUF coach, Brock Lesnar. Most recently, Ferguson was also seen hanging out with UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell.
Liddell was featured on the most recent episode of the UFC 262: Embedded Vlog Series on YouTube. The video showed Tony Ferguson and Liddell shaking hands and having a conversation before the latter revealed that he and Ferguson are "old friends.''
Tony Ferguson is one of Chuck Liddell's favorite fighters
Following their catch up, Chuck Liddell spoke to the UFC Embedded team about Tony Ferguson.
"Tony is a good dude," Liddell said. "I've known Tony for a long time. It was - you know, riding on him because he lost a couple of fights. Those guys he fought were beast, man. And you know, it was their night, you know. He's a soldier, and I love watching him fight so I'm excited for this."
Tony Ferguson has recently been on a two-fight skid for the first time in his professional career. He took a fight against Justin Gaethje, who stepped in as a short-notice replacement in May 2020. The battle was a back-and-forth affair, although Ferguson took the brunt of the damage.
It was not until round five that referee Herb Dean deemed it necessary to step in and call the fight off after Ferguson received too much cumulative damage.
Ferguson returned to the Octagon in December of the same year as a short-notice replacement himself. His opponent was the man who will now fight for the lightweight title on the same card as Ferguson, Charles Olivera.
Olivera performed so impressively that it won him a title shot. He dominated Ferguson and out grappled El Cucuy for the entire three rounds. He also nearly submitted Ferguson via armbar in the first round, but the bell saved the latter.
Tony Ferguson now faces off against Beneil Dariush at the co-main event of UFC 262. Dariush is a fighter truly entering the prime of his career and is currently riding an impressive six-fight win streak.
A win for either man would likely catapult them right back into the top five of the 155lb division and set them on the path to a potential future title shot.
