Elite lightweight Tony Ferguson dropped some truth bombs about the landscape of MMA this week and a lot of people took note.
In the UFC’s most populated division, and arguably its toughest, El Cucuy has been somewhat quietly breezing through just about everyone the match-makers have put in front of him.
In the 155 lb weight class of the big leagues, Ferguson is 10-1 and has beaten top-class fighters such as former Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson, Gleison Tibau, Edson Barboza and most recently, he finished previously undefeated Lando Vannata on short notice.
Although he hasn’t been one to campaign for the big-money fights, his recent interview with Submission Radio in which he bad-mouthed just about all of his potential rivals may have left him with a huge target on his back.
“If you really want to be in the shark tank, because I’m the only hammerhead in this fucking division, man. I’m tired of it. All these other little dudes, they’re a bunch of pansies.”
“They need to stop dressing up in suits and worrying about the labels and money and stuff like that and realize what really fighting’s about that’s pride and doing your best and not worrying about the other bullshit. I’m tired of it, man.”
Tony Ferguson says UFC stars are embarrassing themselves copying Conor McGregor's style… https://t.co/jS8OaqyQMK pic.twitter.com/xwqVxmG6o9
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 6, 2016
Ferguson’s tirade against those who have been trying to follow the blueprint laid down by Conor McGregor in order to make as much moolah as possible caught the attention of a lot of people, including arguably the greatest trash-talker in the sport’s history, Chael P Sonnen.
The American Gangster praised Ferguson for his comments during a recent episode of his podcast,‘You’re Fired’,
“Thank you Tony Ferguson, because it’s about time someone said it just that clearly. When you got into fighting, what was it about? Was it about the competition and trying to beat the guy across from you or was it about who could have designer suit and the fancy car.”
Sonnen has grown weary of fighters trying to pick and choose their opponents, especially when they try to argue that it is the bout people want to see. The way Sonnen sees it, only the people should be allowed choose the fights they want to see.
“When one guy used to work that gimmick, fine. When Conor starting doing that in MMA, fine. Floyd Mayweather, fine. Man, when everybody starts trying to jump in on the same thing it’s freaking annoying.”
“It’s annoying as a fan to hear guys say, ‘I want the money fight, I want the money fight.’ Well, guess what? You don’t get to pick the money fight, we do. We’re the fans. We’ll tell you where we want to spend our money. It’s not the money fight til the fans tell you it’s the money fight.”
Should Ferguson beat former champion Rafael dos Anjos at the TUF Latin America Finale on November 5, he’ll be in with a genuine shout of of fighting for that coveted golden strap next. The fact that he has reached such heights in the sport has come as no surprise to Sonnen, who’s been singing his praises as a fighter for years.
“I’ve been telling you guys for two years to keep your eye on Tony Ferguson. My experience was real simple, I was in the workout room with him every day for a while. I never touched him. His size guys were on one side of the room and my sized guys were on the other, but I watched him. I watched him wear out some name fighters.”
“What happens in the practice room stays in the practice room, so I’ll honour that code. But I’m telling you guys there was some name fighters that Tony would wear out. Not just beat them to the punch and the kick and the takedown, I’m talking about he’d get them tired where they couldn’t go any more. When the bell went off for the next round, Tony’s still standing while they’re over at the water fountain trying to recover.”
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