Tony Ferguson is on a mission unlike any other.
The former interim UFC lightweight champion has seen better days in his MMA run. Once one of the sport’s most feared violence producers, Ferguson rattled off a historic 12-fight win streak that started in 2013 and stretched into 2019 before the tides turned with a knockout loss to Justin Gaethje. Ferguson, 41, hasn’t won since and was finally released from his UFC contract in January after losing eight consecutive bouts, an unfortunate UFC record.
But despite such a demoralizing stretch, Ferguson shows no signs of shouldering a broken mentality as he nears his Global Fight League debut against Dillon Danis on May 11 in Los Angeles.
“My focus is always to what? Keep the sport moving,” Ferguson said Monday on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “Didn’t I always say that? I’ve always kept that to my word. If I can demonstrate May 11 that a guy that had a 12-fight win streak, has an eight[-fight losing streak], and then [can] come back and f***ing steal the show and f***ing win every single fight and go out there and look like a completely different fighter, that’s beyond legendary. It’s never been done — and I love doing things that have never been done.”
Ferguson’s longevity in the UFC despite his half-decade slump is a testament to his body of work. His 14-year run could’ve ended much sooner had he not earned the respect of the powers that be. With so much time invested into the promotion and the sport, the reality of restarting anew was tough for Ferguson.
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Before his release, Ferguson publicly discussed the possibility of trying other sporting ventures for his next move. A boxing opportunity even fell into his lap when Misfits Boxing approached him to fight company owner KSI — a match that ultimately went to Ferguson’s next opponent, Danis, on March 29.
“I started talking to my team, talking to my dad — he’s in my corner now— and I got a couple of other people that are good advisers for me, and we’re like, ‘Hey, you know what? Let’s finish up mixed martial arts. Let’s get this big bone, and then we can worry about boxing later,'” Ferguson said. “It wasn’t like we said no [to KSI], but we started focusing more toward MMA, and then obviously KSI went and I guess found a different opponent, because by then there was the [GFL] draft. That was when this s*** was all going down.
“Then when the draft happened and everything, it was kind of like, ‘OK yeah, we’re certain that this is the direction where we want to go.’ We want to turn some heads. We want to make sure that everything is good and we’re tired of f***ing losing. Like, it’s dub season all day from here on out.
“When I left the UFC, everything was, I hate to say, I wanted to fight another time,” he continued, “but obviously, even me, I was like, ‘OK, I have to excuse myself, guys, but I don’t want to leave on bad terms.’
“Talking to [UFC CEO] Dana [White], talking to [UFC CBO] Hunter [Campbell], actually, and then coming to terms with it. It was like we all agreed that it was the best interest for me to move on. Honestly, it was awesome.”
Always a team player to the best of his abilities, Ferguson is proud to represent his squad no matter the name or brand. In GFL, that’ll be Team Los Angeles.
But it’s still a big change from the UFC. And for “El Cucuy,” there was a specific moment when it all settled in.
“I have to tell you, I packed up all my UFC stuff,” Ferguson said. “I put it in the bags — and it was the hardest f***ing thing I had to do. It was a couple of days where it took time for me to be able to adjust. I put everything in big storage bags and I was ready to move on, and it’s almost like when you — I went in ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ [in 2011] with the purpose of winning a fat check so I could help my family out, my grandma and everything.
“I ended up getting a [UFC] contract. So this whole entire process has never been a disappointment, but what it has been is a learning experience of how, one, I go about my business; two, about how I treat my close circle; and three, about how I want to plan for the future. Right now, where we’re at in this stage, it’s so amazing that there is an opportunity for a lot of other people to be able to display their [skills in the GFL] and to be able to wear some new clothes in a new jersey, a new f***ing moment in the shirt. It’s such a great feeling to have and such a relief to be able to move on. No bad blood anywhere.
“I think this is a great sport,” he continued. “I think the direction that it’s going, one day we will see in the Olympics. But it’s going to [be on this debut GFL group for] for 2025, especially May 11, [to] come out there and make sure that everybody understands that we’re not f***ing around. We’re getting paid right. We have teams. This is exactly how I liked it in wrestling. It might be an individual sport, but you’re still fighting for a team. You get a pin, you get six points. This is what’s close to that kind of scenario as a professional — legitimate collegiate type of atmosphere where it wants to break into [new ground].”
Changes within the GFL go beyond promotion and format. Ferguson was a perpetual lightweight throughout his 36-fight MMA career, though he also took some welterweight bouts in his final UFC years. He’ll compete at 165 pounds for the foreseeable future in GFL, starting with the Danis matchup.
A former Bellator welterweight prospect, Danis hasn’t competed in MMA in six years and only accumulated a 2-0 record in the cage. Danis’ only professional fight throughout his hiatus was a bizarre sixth-round disqualification loss to Logan Paul in their October 2023 boxing match in Misfits.
On paper, Ferguson has every advantage aside from youth against his 31-year-old foe. And with Danis double-booked into the upcoming KSI bout on March 29, there’s a risk of injury that could alter Ferguson’s plans.
In classic “El Cucuy” fashion, he’ll let Danis worry about all of that.
“Not my problem,” Ferguson said of Danis boxing. “I was about to take that f***ing fight too, so every f***ing man is a grown-ass man. You’re going to have to own up to your decisions. You’re going to figure it out. If he doesn’t make it, I have a backup, right? But what do I say?
“I’m not worried about who I’m going to fight because I’m going to be the best. Whatever the f*** prime is, I’m not prime — I’m no Optimus Prime. Tony f***ing Ferguson — I’m f***ing me. I’m working on beyond legendary status of what I already f***ing have. People are going to have to beat me on the f***ing mat for that and I don’t see that happening, dude. I do not see that happening any f***ing time soon, especially this year or next year. I’ve lost enough, I’m done, I’m over it. I got a brand new f***ing GFL hoodie. I’m about to have my jersey with my name on it. Our mascots are about to be released. You just wait until I get my f***ing gloves.”
Eight losses in a row would deter most from continuing onward, and after a first-round submission loss to Michael Chiesa at UFC Abu Dhabi in August, Ferguson had every right to stop.
“El Cucuy” admitted the experience was intense. He said he battled heat stroke and sickness during his trip to Abu Dhabi. To make matters worse, he and his wife also went through a miscarriage.
After losing to Chisea and setting the one UFC record every fighter wants the least, he teased a potential retirement by taking off one glove in the cage. But Ferguson had no intentions of going out like that.
“I’ve never really been cut from a team ever,” Ferguson said. “I’ve always worked my ass off and I’ve always found a way, even if I wasn’t able to play. I had broken my arm one time my sophomore year and I switched schools — I had to sit out for a whole f***ing semester because of the thing when you switch schools. I sat out and I suited up every f***ing game, I suited up every f***ing practice, and I showed up even knowing that I wasn’t going to be able to play.
“I’m a f***ing gamer. You will never find another f***ing professional athlete like me. You might, but we’re a few and wholehearted, man.”
