UFC 296 opened with a bang as Josh Emmett delivered a massive knockout to Bryce Mitchell. Following that, the legendary Tony Ferguson entered the ring to face Paddy Pimblett with the aim of breaking his losing streak. However, despite intense training with David Goggins, it couldn’t save him from another loss which equalled him with BJ Penn’s longest losing streak record. He showed resilience but succumbed to Pimblett, leading to fans demanding retirement.
In the first round, Ferguson appeared completely out of place. It was his resilience and refusal to give up that prevented him from losing. Somehow, Ferguson survived the round after absorbing solid blows. Moving on to the second round, not much transpired. Despite appearing almost done, Ferguson didn’t absorb as many shots, and it was a round where not much happened.
The same story continued in the third round, Pimblett strategically controlled his way to victory after the initial round. Thanks to his first-round dominance, Paddy secured the win via unanimous decision (30-27×3). And now as he lost for the 7th time straight fans reacting to that call out for his retirement and want to put his gloves down. Check out the reaction below.
Respect to the legend, but I don’t want to see Tony walk again.
— Briakan (@Briakan_) December 17, 2023
Tony Ferguson has put his gloves down with immediate effect #ufc296 pic.twitter.com/rvBtKdB37c
— ِ (@almasscomps) December 17, 2023
https://twitter.com/faisaldademon/status/1736235467547234447?s=46&t=OkCD820TcQoXWiWIefry3whttps://twitter.com/revngeful/status/1736235435632799823?s=46&t=OkCD820TcQoXWiWIefry3w
thats 7 loses in a row now.. Tony need to be cut from the UFC. force this man into retirement PLEASE
— Revengeful (Justin) (@Revngeful) December 17, 2023
https://twitter.com/wadexflash/status/1736235315227250928?s=46&t=OkCD820TcQoXWiWIefry3w
Paddy gets redemption and Tony gets the last sign he needs.
Love Tony but he needs to retire. He does not need to take that kind of damage ever again.
— Scott (@CYBERTRCK) December 17, 2023
Tony and Thompson should retire. Embarrassing night.
— D'ardellen! (@Dardellen) December 17, 2023
Indeed, for fans, it was tough to witness him losing, especially considering his previous 12-fight winning streak, and they believe it might harm his legacy. To be fair, as many believe Ferguson has passed his prime. Now at 39, with a 7-fight losing streak, fans think retirement might be the next move for him as his speed and fighting skills appear to be slowing down. And now he equals to BJ Penn’s losing streak record.
UFC 296: Tony Ferguson 7 Fight Losing Streak Equals BJ Penn
There has never been a rise and fall in UFC history quite like Tony Ferguson’s. A legendary 12-fight winning streak followed by 7 straight losses. It all began with his defeat to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249. He continued to face losses against Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush, Michael Chandler, Nate Diaz, Bobby Green, and now against Pimblett.
This unfortunate streak puts him in league with the legendary BJ Penn, who also faced 7 losses towards the end of his career. After this, Penn retired from the UFC and now fans are demanding the same from Ferguson. Will he retire? Only time will tell because even though he is losing he is still coming with the same resilience as ever.
