Reacting to the announcement of his friend Dustin Poirier’s retirement fight at UFC 318, Daniel Cormier claims the time has finally come for the changing of the lightweight guard. However, the UFC analyst also insists that, despite not often being spoken about in the same vein, former interim champion Tony Ferguson must be counted as an integral part of his mythical generation of great lightweights.
With Poirier’s swansong set for June, the 155 lbs division will only be left with two veterans from that glorious era — Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira.
The duo, along with Poirier and 29-0 fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov, held the line for over a decade, turning the lightweight division into the most-watched roster under the promotion’s banner.
But for Hall of Fame star Cormier, despite leaving the promotion on an 8-fight skid, Ferguson should be as much a part of the conversation as his peers.
Noting that we have been lucky to live through this era of lightweights, Cormier insisted, “The Charles Oliveiras, the Dustin Poiriers, the Khabib Nurmagomedovs, the Justin Gaethjes, the Tony Fergusons. Don’t act like we cannot mention this group without Tony Ferguson.”
According to Cormier, at one point, Tony Ferguson was just as valuable to his group as any other.
“Even if he was an interim champ, not the world champ. Dustin Poirier wasn’t. Justin Gaethje wasn’t — they were interim champions”, he noted, reiterating about just how rare it is to have seen such world-class performers fight during the same time in UFC history.
Ferguson, a fighter’s fighter, was one of the freakiest lightweights the division has ever seen. Touted to be a challenge, even for Khabib at one point, Tony was riding on a 12-fight win streak during his peak.
‘El Cucuy’ (the Spanish equivalent of bogeyman), as he is popularly known, earned his nickname for putting on a remarkable show of grit and violence against showmen like Anthony Pettis and Edson Barboza.
Why UFC never cut Ferguson
Tony Ferguson always pulled the crowds. So much so that even after his career nosedived after the COVID pandemic, MMA analyst Ben Askren had claimed that the UFC was reluctant to cut Ferguson, owing to the chances of him making money for other promotions.
Following his loss to surging lightweight Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296, fans had raised serious concerns about Tony’s health. Some had even appealed to the UFC on social media to convince the lightweight fighter to hang up his gloves.
Others had demanded that the UFC simply step in and make the decision for him. Even Cormier had claimed that the UFC would have preferred if Tony had hung up his gloves for good under their banner.
“Dana White wants Tony Ferguson to retire. I think we’re all in agreement there. Tony needs to be done”, DC had claimed.
However, Askren, at the time, had claimed that the UFC boss, Dana White, didn’t want to free Ferguson to join any of his competitors.
Despite his poor performances in the octagon, Askren was of the belief that Tony planned on fighting till the wheels fell off.
And he was proven right after Ferguson finally inked a multi-fight deal with the faltering GFL (Global Fight League) last year. The Ultimate Fighter winner was booked for a debut fight under the newly minted promotion against Dillon Danis.
