Tony Ferguson might not have ever been “chicken sh*t” but in his prime, he definitely was “chicken salad“, thanks to former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, El Cucuy’s coach on The Ultimate Fighter season 13. Amidst his plan to return to the octagon again, Ferguson shared a video of the former champion helping him out in TUF and thanked him for it.
Lesnar, even back then was really high on Ferguson and believed that fighter could go on to win the whole show; and so he did in 2011. Ferguson himself had called it his destiny.
“Opportunities Exist When We Create Them” -TF
Check It Out,.. Don’t Wait,.React!!! And When You Do, Give It Every Thing You Got & Do It Again
– Champ -CSO- # MoarThanTUF # TeamElCucuy # TeamLesnar Thanks Coach Brock ♂️ pic.twitter.com/VaK4u0dnRK— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) November 8, 2024
Of course, a lot has happened since then. Far removed from his unbeaten days at the peak of the UFC mountain, Tony is now on an eight-fight losing streak and despite desperate requests from fans about calling it a day, keeps coming back for more punishment.
Lesnar, however, is not a fan of that. Speaking to Tony in February 2024, he had just urged the former interim champion to think about hanging up the gloves.
“I don’t know any different, it’s always make the grade to play and have people that want you to do it, I don’t know anybody else, but for me it’s different. I still keep in contact with coach [Lesnar]. He said, after one of my fights, I think four fights ago, ‘You should think about retiring’. coach Brock [said it], he was just real. “
Weirdly Tony also remembers Lesnar telling him to pay his taxes.
The coolest thing he would always say to me is “Save your money, pay your taxes.” After every fight, nothing like ‘Good job’, no, ‘Save your money, pay your taxes’. Like, alright, coach.”
And one can only hope that Tony listened to the giant man from Saskatchewan, Canada. Because the way he’s planning on never retiring, it makes one really feel worried for him.
Ferguson will never retire
Despite having left half his glove in the octagon after his loss to Michael Chiesa, El Cucuy still wants to keep going. And if the UFC shows him the door, he’s happy to do it somewhere else.
At the height of his career, Tony had amassed 12 straight wins from 2013 to 2019, submitting Kevin Lee, destroying Donald Cerrone, and going to war with Anthony Pettis. He also captured the interim lightweight title during his insane run.
This was until his body seemingly gave up on him. He’s just not the same guy anymore. It also doesn’t help his cause that he’s on the wrong side of 40 now. Despite this, his unwillingness to give up has him return to the octagon every few months.
He even tried calling out his old rival, the one that got away, Khabib Nurmagomedov to a fight but got dismissed right away by the Dagestani. One can only hope, he takes the hint.
