A UFC media day with Tony Ferguson is never boring, and the previous interim UFC light-weight champion didn’t disappoint on the dais for his UFC 291 assembly with Bobby Inexperienced.
Contemporary from a coaching camp in Huge Bear, Calif., Ferguson talked up his expertise monitoring a bear that meandered round his services. Then he pulled out a knife to show his outside bonafides.
“It’s blades and shades,” mentioned Ferguson, repeating a catchphrase.
The transfer definitely obtained everybody’s consideration within the press room. However Ferguson additionally drew headlines earlier than he booked Saturday’s combat. Involved followers flooded his timeline after a DUI wherein he allegedly flipped his truck on the streets of Hollywood, Calif. On that, “El Cucuy” promised “some lawsuits and another s*** taking place.” Then he redirected to what he mentioned had been ongoing points with the media — and his pursuit of a curious bear.
Ferguson returns to the octagon on a five-fight skid, usually effectively previous the purpose of no return for slumping fighters. Irrespective of his current fortunes, although, MMA followers nonetheless love him and root for his success.
To reward them, he mentioned he requested to face Inexperienced, a slick veteran with a few of the finest boxing expertise within the UFC. The 2 had been cordial in a number of conferences till Inexperienced, he mentioned, determined to textual content him on Father’s Day.
“[He texted], ‘Is that this El Cucuy?’” Ferguson mentioned, then paused and loosened his neck for dramatic impact. “Comfortable Father’s Day, I advised him.”
“Now, I’m not going to name him a b****-ass, however I simply noticed him within the foyer not too way back,” he added. “Mr. Flashy. It’s cool, it’s your factor, I get you. However when he noticed me, he seemed like he noticed the fourth horseman of dying. It was sort of f****** loopy.”
There’s no telling whether or not Ferguson will get one other likelihood if he’s unsuccessful in opposition to Inexperienced, and no telling whether or not he desires one other one. At this level, he mentioned, his predominant objective is “I need to win.”
“You’ve obtained to understand it, dude, I’m not used to dropping,” he continued. “I’ve been competing in sports activities since I used to be perhaps 4, 5. I’ve been competing in sports activities for 30 years on the highest stage. … Man, you get burned out. It took a full pandemic for me to lose my 12-fight profitable streak. I’m not mad at it. However I needed to hearth some coaches, as a result of I used to be making an attempt to get them again, they usually weren’t good for me. It was poisonous to me, and I didn’t notice it.
“What I’ll say is that my focus is again.”
On the identical time, Ferguson is embracing pursuits outdoors the octagon, taking persevering with schooling at Harvard Enterprise College, teaching up-and-coming fighters, and, in fact, being a father and husband.
As he makes an attempt to get again within the win column, Ferguson can also be watching his light-weight colleagues. Of the upcoming combat between his former administration stablemate Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler, who knocked him out with a vicious entrance kick, he hoped the opposing TUF 31 coaches “knocked one another the f*** out.” He hoped Nate Diaz, who outpointed him in his earlier outing, and Jake Paul do the identical, together with UFC 291 headliners Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.
“I used to be supposed to educate on The Final Fighter [31],” Ferguson mentioned. “I used to be supposed to educate … in opposition to Kabieber [Khabib Nurmagomedov]. He’s off on his world tour nonetheless. And I suppose no matter he had taking place, he didn’t have the balls to go coach his cousin. … We had been in November after I knew we had been going to educate in opposition to him. … I had conferences with [UFC executive] Hunter [Campbell]. This was sport. I did every part I wanted to go in an effort to get Khabib again, however he ran away like slightly p*****. So, f*** you Khabib.”
Ferguson possible won’t ever get the possibility to compete in opposition to Nurmagomedov, a combat that was scratched on 5 separate events. He should still burn for that combat, however the greater one proper now’s preserving on the energetic UFC roster.
“I really feel at this time limit in my life, I‘m simply barely hitting my prime,” Ferguson mentioned. “Certainly one of my coaches, we had been doing mitts between interviews. … I didn’t even wrap up. I went out and hit the pads, and I’m actually sharp proper now. I’m as sharp as I look.”
