UFC’s Tony Ferguson once had the longest winning streak in the LW division. He ripped through the division, slicing up the top dogs to earn the interim belt before everything went down in flames. Once touted as the great Khabib Nurmagomedov’s kryptonite, Ferguson’s fall from grace has been a heartbreaker for ardent fans worldwide. Joe Rogan recently touched upon Ferguson’s dismal downfall, comparing it with how ‘The Eagle’ dealt with his career.
With the new welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad, joining him on the show, the conversation slowly tipped towards Khabib, and that’s when Joe pointed out why Ferguson is now in an awful slump. Reflecting on the fighter’s greatness, he remarked,
“In his prime, people forget, in his prime that motherf**ker was terrifying. He had a longa** win streak and f**king everybody up, he was cutting people, strangling people.
He continued by saying-
He was a beast dude! Tony Ferguson was a f**king monster but people forgot, they only see Tony Ferguson now knocked out by (Michael) Chandler, they see Tony Ferguson now when Paddy Pimblett beats him. He is natural, the body just can’t do what the mind wants to do anymore.”
One reason Rogan and Belal both agree that took years from Tony’s career is his tenacity. He was too hard for his own good; no amount of KOs or decision losses made Tony think.
In fact, after his war with knockout artist Justin Gaethje, which ended in a KO loss, ‘El Cucuy’ never took some time off and instead returned to the octagon the same year to fight former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.
From there on, Ferguson’s career spiraled downward, succumbing to vicious KOs and decision losses one after the other to end up with a 0-8 record in his last eight fights. Meanwhile, his rival Khabib efficiently used breaks to focus on his health and retired undefeated with an unblemished record of 29-0.
Meanwhile, Ferguson recently released a cryptic message for lightweight champion Islam Makhachev after the Russian snubbed Tony of a black belt.
Ferguson hits back with a cryptic message at Makhachev
Ferguson was seriously considered to be the one to derail the Dagestani hype train, Khabib. Tony’s unorthodox striking movements and underrated grappling skills were seen as a threat to Russian elite wrestling. However, to the dismay of the fans, the fight never materialized despite the matchmakers booking it five times.
While Nurmagomedov left the UFC in 2020 after defeating Gaethje, Tony remained in the promotion and kept on fighting. That’s when ‘The Eagle’s’ prodigy, Makhachev, was making his climb up the lightweight ladder, calling out Ferguson for a fight. Sadly, that, too, never bore any fruits.
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Now, coming to the recent happenings, Islam, in a recent interview with ESPN, claimed that the American does not deserve a black belt in jiu-jitsu.
When asked about Tony, the champ said he was good in a few areas but isn’t the real black belt. In response, Tony went to the comment section to deliver a signature “CSO” message.
