“Huge Star in Dagestan”: Sharaputdin Magomedov Expresses Faith in Tony Ferguson’s Return Despite Eighth Straight UFC Loss

Sharaputdin Magomedov believes Tony Ferguson will stage a surprising comeback despite the 40-year-old’s eighth straight loss in the UFC. Ferguson returned to action this past weekend intending to snap his seven-fight skid. Unfortunately, things did not turn out as expected since ‘El Cucuy’ succumbed to yet another loss.

Other fighters and fans have urged the California native to hang up his gloves for years, but Ferguson never budged. However, his eighth straight loss made the American realize his time was up, and he finally decided on a partial retirement. Subsequently, in the post-fight press conference, he revealed his plans to move away from the sport for a while, and at the same time claimed that he would have his eyes on Magomedov during this time, as he liked Bullet’s style of fighting.

When Magomedov arrived for his press conference, a reporter informed him of Ferguson’s kind words and asked him if he had anything to say in return. To this, ‘Bullet’ said,

“Tony Ferguson is a huge star in Dagestan. We were warming up in the same locker room, he’s a cool guy, it’s his dream to fight. He loves it, to tell him to forget his dream and retire, everyone has bad luck. He is on an eight-fight losing streak before that he won 12 in a row. Maybe he will get back to that.”

 

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Despite his eight-fight losing streak, Magomedov insisted that Ferguson has been fighting in the best promotion in the world and has lost to some of the top fighters in the division. However, despite Bullet’s encouraging words, there seems to be no way back for the California native at present.

Ferguson steps away from the UFC

At one point, Ferguson was considered the boogeyman in the lightweight division. A 12-fight win streak against some of the biggest names in the division is something fans will never forget about him. Unfortunately, the beginning of the end started with Justin Gaethje at UFC 249. After that Ferguson succumbed to seven more losses out of which four were stoppages. Following the conclusion of his fight against Chiesa, ‘El Cucuy’ removed his gloves and placed one on the floor.

He stated that he loved the UFC and could never see himself fighting anywhere else. However, he did not want to commit to a full retirement. Therefore, Ferguson kept one glove with him, ‘just in case’. The American’s well-wishers and fans will be hoping that he is done with the sport for good given the damage he has suffered in his last few fights.