Tony Ferguson and Conor McGregor do not like each other. ‘El Cucuy’ and ‘Notorious’ have been going back and forth in the recent past, calling each other out. McGregor has promised to fight Ferguson, warning ‘Boogeyman’ in August this year that “I’m going to finish you and badly. I haven’t forgotten,” ‘Mac’ wrote on Twitter in response to a tweet by Ferguson.

Given that both men are in the same weight class, some back and forth between them is expected. However, not many know that the origin of their feud goes beyond the usual banter among fighters. And ahead of the UFC 296 bout against Paddy Pimblett that may set the tone for the rest of ‘El Cucuy’s career, let us take a look at the genesis of his feud with ‘Notorious’.

McGregor comments on Ferguson’s acrimonious exit from Paradigm Sports

Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson used to be represented by the same management company, Paradigm Sports. But, in 2020, Ferguson broke away from the management firm, claiming he was being “f***ed over” by them. In a 2022 interview with Submission Radio, he claimed that he was being misinformed by the Paradigm Sports team that McGregor was not an owner of the company, which was false and had implications for his career.

‘Mac’ is reported to have an ownership stake in the company. Ferguson claimed this prevented a fight between him and McGregor, as anyone on a fighter’s management team is prevented from fighting one of their clients. The former interim lightweight champion has also argued that Paradigm owes him half a million dollars. He then signed with the Ballengee Group, which continues to represent him to this day.

Back in May 2020, when things were amicable between them, ‘Mac’ seems to have addressed the topic of Ferguson’s exit from Paradigm. In a tweet after Ferguson’s UFC 249 loss to Justin Gaethje, McGregor expressed his affinity for Ferguson and claimed to have been ‘betrayed’ by Ferguson. The Irishman commended Ferguson’s mic skills and toughness but complained he was not as good as the hype around him would lead one to believe.

“I love Tony. We represented him amazingly at Paradigm sports and were betrayed for a promise of a baseball contract. But frame and preparation here was just embarrassing. His methods and conversation are humorous/enjoyable but he was never the level perceived. Although tough.” McGregor tweeted. Today, however, the Irishman is much more vulgar towards Ferguson, whom he has added to his list.

Ferguson’s name added to McGregor’s ‘list’

As the dirty laundry between them has become public, ‘Mac’ has promised to knock out Ferguson, the third person he has on his ‘list’ after he returns to the Octagon after over two years’ absence. The Dubliner is slated to face rival TUF 31 coach Michael Chandler in a welterweight bout on an as-yet-unknown date sometime next year.

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And ‘Mac’ has already planned ahead. He challenged his former rival Nate Diaz to a trilogy fight. He promised Diaz on social media that after Chandler, he would defeat Justin Gaethje for the BMF title and fight Diaz for the belt. And now, the former two-division champion has added Ferguson to the list. Which would be good for everyone involved, especially the fans.

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