Chael Sonnen Credits Tony Ferguson Fight for Charles Oliveira’s Rise to Stardom

Former interim UFC lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson’s run is the stuff of legends, no question about it, irrespective of the anti-climatic ending. With ‘The Boogeyman’ throwing his glove into the octagon, hinting at retirement, the Good Guy/ Bad Guy hosts, Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen are actively discussing ‘El Cucuy’s’ greatness.

Speaking on ESPN’s show, Sonnen took a different approach, explaining how Tony stood apart. Bringing Charles Oliveira into the picture, he dissected how the American helped ‘De Bronx’ climb the heights of UFC fame and reach the stratosphere.

Answering DC’s question. he lauded Ferguson for his courage, saying

“Courageous, brave, I know those are a little bit cliche, let me give you the one that isn’t quite so common – generous. Charles Oliveira, the Charles Oliveira story, the Charles Oliveira rise to fame to the main event to world title opportunities, just to have the opportunity, that story does not exist without Tony (Ferguson).”

During a time when fighters were ducking the best of the competition, Tony took on a prime and motivated Oliveira.

Though Ferguson fought the Brazilian after his traumatic war against Justin Gaethje, he took the fight to Oliveira only to lose via a decision. Sonnen highlighted his point and noted his admiration for Tony for taking on an animal like Oliveira.

In fact, ‘The American Gangster’ believes it was Tony who upped the stocks of the Brazilian, giving him the opportunity to showcase his skills before he became the champion.

Meanwhile, the ‘El Cucuy’ after his UFC Abu Dhabi loss also mentioned his future plans, revealing his indecisiveness if in case Dana White actually let him go.

Tony unsure – “Might have to do something different”

To the dismay of millions of Tony fans around the world, ‘The Boogeyman’ succumbed to his eighth straight loss last weekend in Abu Dhabi when he took on fellow UFC veteran, Michael Chiesa in his first welterweight bout.

The never-say-die attitude of the fighter was evident last week despite not winning any bouts in the last five years. In fact, the 40-year-old remained optimistic, about continuing fighting if it is in the UFC or not.

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During an exclusive to MMA Mania, he opened up when asked about the possibility of Dana White refusing to book him to fight, saying that he wanted to feel real and if fans were willing to come to Abu Dhabi and spend thousands of dollars to watch him compete, they would continue following him anywhere.

“What we do is we go do something else, I wanna be real… I can f**king tell you they’re gonna follow me somewhere. And that’s the humblest thing I could say because no matter where I’m at, no matter what I’m doing, I’m gonna get better and better and better and better.”

Like the saying goes, you can take a fighter out of a fight but you can never take the fight out of a fighter. Likewise, Tony is still being that guy who is too tough for his own good.