Tony Ferguson Denies That His Best Days Are Behind Him

Tony Ferguson is coming off back-to-back devastating losses in his last two fights. Following the loss against Charles Oliveira, Dana White speculated that it may be the case that Ferguson’s best days are behind him. However, the former interim champ disagrees with the UFC supremo.

Heading into UFC 256, Ferguson was a mild favorite against the number seven ranked Brazilian. However, it looked as if no one told this to Oliveira. ‘Do Bronx’ controlled ‘El Cucuy’ in every facet of the fight game. He exerted his authority by slamming Ferguson to the mat more than once and nearly submitted him at the end of the first round.

Given Ferguson’s age and the damage he took in the last two fights, it isn’t outlandish to believe that he is past his prime. Even Dana White felt that this could be the case. At the post-fight press conference, White said that he expected the old Tony Ferguson to show up last weekend. While that didn’t happen, it may be the case that the old Ferguson is a thing of the past.

As far as Ferguson is concerned, he would respectfully disagree with the same.

Should Tony Ferguson change his style to keep competing at a high level?

For a long span, Ferguson was the boogeyman in a division that was full of talent. His forward pressure style of fighting set up a pace that left his opponents pedaling backward most of the time. It was this style of his that garnered him success and led to a twelve fight winning streak.

During this stretch, Ferguson also incurred a ton of damage as he imparted more of the same to his opponents. Despite the ridiculous work ethic and durability of Ferguson, it now seems that ‘Father Time’ is slowly catching up with him. If one counts the last round of his fight with Justin Gaethje where he was knocked out, the former Ultimate Fighter has lost eight straight rounds.

Ferguson is still a tough fight for anyone in the lightweight division. The larger question that looms over is that is he still capable of competing with the cream of the crop at 155-pounds. He may have to think about possibly taking a larger layoff and return with a renewed drive of competing at a high level.

Read More: “It Will Happen” – Tony Ferguson Confident of Fight With Khabib Nurmagomedov