Tony Ferguson found a new lease on life after the uneventful end to his legendary UFC career. The former interim lightweight champion defeated TikToker Salt Papi on his debut for Misfits Boxing, and it was truly an emotional moment for ‘El Cucuy’. However, it appears that the decision to dive into boxing might have been taken because of one of his old coaches.

When ‘El Cucuy’ entered the UFC scene, he came in through The Ultimate Fighter reality show under the tutelage of Brock Lesnar. The former NCAA, WWE, and UFC champion had a tremendous influence on Tony Ferguson, who still keeps in contact with the ‘Beast Incarnate’, referring to him as “coach.” It was a conversation with Lesnar that led to the next career move for the lightweight legend.

Retirement Advice Didn’t Sit Right With Tony Ferguson

Tony Ferguson has made one thing perfectly clear. Fans should not expect him to hang up his gloves anytime soon because he’s “never f—ing retiring.” At a time when he was going through his massive losing streak at the end of his UFC run, ‘El Cucuy’ claims to have spoken with Brock Lesnar, who gave him two special pieces of advice, and one of them was about his inability to find a win inside the Octagon. Ferguson was certainly not happy about that.

“I had a conversation with Coach Brock. And I asked him. He’s like, ‘Tony… save your money. Pay your taxes,'” Tony Ferguson told MMA Fighting. “And the other thing, he was like, ‘You should think about retiring, Tony.’ I can’t f—ing listen to anybody… who’s not in my shoes.”

Fighting is a young man’s game, and Brock Lesnar understood the toll it takes on the body. His plea to Ferguson to sum up his career did not go down well, but that wasn’t everything he had to say to the lightweight veteran. The former interim champion claims Lesnar also spoke about following his passion, which, Ferguson claims, is boxing.

“I asked coach Brock, though. And I said, ‘Coach, what do guys like us do when we retire?’ I value his opinion. He says, ‘You know what, Tony, find your second passion and follow that with everything you’ve got like you did your first,'” Tony Ferguson added. “I love this sport [boxing]. Never been allowed to play it. Here I am. 2026 is around the corner, so I wanted to fight 2025. We’re going to finish this year f—ing strong, and dam*it, I’m excited.”

Tony Ferguson has a lot of plans for his boxing endeavor in 2026. But before the year ends, the California native has a chance to win championship gold against a fighter who used to be a mechanic.

Ferguson to fight for interim gold

It’s been more than half a decade since Tony Ferguson fought for a championship on the line. He’s making it all the way to Dubai this weekend for the interim middleweight title. Taking place at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, the former UFC fighter will go up against Warren Spencer, whose record is not as credible as Ferguson’s previous opponent, Salt Papi.

Regardless, there are massive implications in this fight between Tony Ferguson and Warren Spencer. The former mechanic, who lost to Dillon Danis in his only MMA fight that failed to impress fans, and the former UFC star both have an opportunity to book their ticket to the title unification bout against YouTuber AnEsonGib, the undisputed MisFits middleweight champion.

Tony Ferguson is loving his post-UFC life, and he’s enjoying his run in the crossover boxing scene. Not only does it help the promotion bring in more eyes of the legit fight fans around the world, but it also gives ‘El Cucuy’ something to fight for- the championships and the passion he has for combat sports.