feature-image
feature-image

Tony Ferguson has generated immense value in the sport of MMA. His reckless style and regularly entertaining fights have captured the eyes of fans, both hardcore and casual. He is a valuable name but feels like the UFC doesn’t pay him what he deserves. This was an issue with the Dustin Poirier fight, and he has revealed how UFC’s treatment of newcomer Michael Chandler rubbed him the wrong way.

Watch What’s Trending Now!

“Now you’re going to bring in a new dude, who I have no f***ing clue who he is. From a marketing standpoint, the dude has less than 100k followers on Twitter. You’re going to try and get him more notoriety by throwing him against me on the Khabib card, I get that. But don’t pay them more than us. He has zero time in the UFC, I don’t even know about roids and all that stuff or whatever, I don’t get in that kind of stuff with anybody.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Ferguson proceeded to call Chandler out. “Chandler, you want a welcome, you want to do this? Let’s make it right, put it on paper. UFC, let’s make the money right, let’s make it interesting. I draw PPV buys Ariel. They wanted value, I created value.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Tony Ferguson is looking to welcome Michael Chandler to the UFC

If nothing catastrophic happens before UFC 254, Michael Chandler won’t have to step in for a last-minute UFC lightweight championship bout. His debut will be highly anticipated, and what better way to capitalize on this buzz by pairing him against Tony Ferguson.

ADVERTISEMENT

article-image

It makes no sense for Dana White to pay Chandler more than Ferguson. Not only is Ferguson the more established mainstream name, but he also has one of the best records in the history of the UFC lightweight division. Chandler will truly have a trial by fire if his debut comes against ‘El Cucuy’. This is because Ferguson will be even more dangerous as he seeks to bounce back into title contention.

ADVERTISEMENT

Many high-value fighters are currently upset about how the UFC has been paying them. But it’ll be interesting to see how they appease the top stars of the Lightweight division. Tony, Poirier, and Chandler are elite talents. However, it is obvious to see why Poirier and Ferguson would feel slighted to have a newcomer like Chandler out-earn them.

ADVERTISEMENT

Share this with a friend:

Link Copied!

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by

author-image

Ishaan Bhattacharya

1,510 Articles

Ishaan Bhattacharya is an NBA, NCAA Basketball, and Combat Sports writer at EssentiallySports. Currently, Ishaan is pursuing a Post Graduate Degree in Journalism from Xavier's Institute of Communication. Previously, Ishaan has written for The Indian Express, The Quint, Sportskeeda, and WrestleClub. Ishaan has a keen interest in theatre and films, and has dabbled in the art, winning several awards for his scripts over the years. He has written for popular YouTube channels such as The Wrestling Hub and WhatCulture. Now, Ishaan also heads the site's NCAA Basketball division.

Know more

ADVERTISEMENT