Tony Ferguson returns at UFC 256 without the weight of the world on his back
LAS VEGAS — Tony Ferguson has been one of the great and most iconic fighters in recent UFC history. In his last seven fights, he’s been in the Fight of the Night six times.
He’s put himself through incredible amounts of physical torture to get into peak condition, and he’s taken a mind-boggling amount of punishment from his opponents in pursuit of victory.
It makes one shudder to see some of the shots he’s taken. But in Ferguson’s case, the old joking quote, “You shoulda seen the other guy,” is almost always true.
It was true, of course, fight after fight, battle after battle, until the last time out. Then, Ferguson was the other guy. He lost his bout for the interim lightweight title with Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 on May 9 when he was stopped with less than 90 seconds remaining in the match.
For all the times he seemed almost super human with the feats he performed inside the cage, in recapping his defeat, he came across as very human and very relatable.
He’s vowed to change after saying he’d done things that everybody else wanted him to do all the time. He’s going to become selfish, and do what benefits him and his performance, as well as his family, above all else.
He had to deal with incredible pressures. The fight was booked before the pandemic and was against champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. When the pandemic broke out, Nurmagomedov traveled to his native Russia and then was unable to get back into the United States.
Ferguson was left in limbo, not sure if he’d fight or not or whether he’d fight at all.
“I spent all of my energy trying to make everyone else happy who I thought was in my close circle,” said Ferguson, who fights Charles Oliveira on Saturday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+ PPV) at Apex in the co-main of UFC 256. “There was no juice left in the squeeze for my wife and my kid. And I was handling my business, getting the company through turmoil so UFC, we could make sure we got sports back on. … There’s hardly going to be another time like that, where we’re going to have to step up and do this s---. I had the whole world on my back. I don’t have to do that any more.”
That’s Ferguson’s way of saying he’s ready to perform at his highest level on Saturday. That is why the fight is arguably the most appealing on what should be a very entertaining card.
He is more than ready for the bout. He got home from the Gaethje fight and didn’t take a few months to rest. He was back in the gym working out and training on the Monday after the fight.
It’s one of the many things that makes him different. He was hoping to fight Michael Chandler in Abu Dhabi, but the UFC couldn’t make a deal and needed Chandler as a back-up in case either Nurmagomedov or Gaethje was injured, missed weight or somehow had to withdraw from the fight.
He wasn’t about to relax and let his wounds heal; he was grinding like he’s done when he was a kid playing youth sports in Michigan. Not much has changed other than how much he’s paid and how many people show up to watch.
“As soon as I got off the plane [from Jacksonville, Florida, where he fought in UFC 249], I dropped my wife and kid off and I went to the academy immediately and started working,” he said. “It’s the same way I did when I injured my knee. I’ve been in camp since June. I’m going to be real. June, July, August, September, October, November. I’ve been in camp for a half a year.
“Take more time off? You guys have never seen me this way or heard me this way. Any of my approach, you guys don’t know me. That little facade that you guys had, it was all for you guys. It’s no more. This is me.”
So we’ll see the real Tony Ferguson on Saturday.
So that should mean we’ll see cuts and blood and punches and kicks and as much action as one could imagine in a 15-minute fight. You like crazy, scrambling, offense-filled fights?
Tony Ferguson is your guy, and he’s back.
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