Tony Ferguson is now singing the praises of former adversary Paddy Pimblett and has even removed the social media block that Ferguson previously had on the surging star. The former interim UFC lightweight champion expressed this during a recent interview with The Schmo at what was an exclusive premier party for the thirty third season of The Ultimate Fighter.
The TUF season 13 champion touched on several subjects during the interview and when he was asked if Pimblett will eventually become a UFC lightweight champion, Ferguson said,
“I kind of helped them up towards wherever they were going to go after that. And a lot of people discredit a lot of the athletes that I fight, and they shouldn't. I believe the athletes that I fight, they've always had a bright future—otherwise they wouldn't have made that matchmaking."
"I think the kid has the opportunity. He's got a lot of fuel for the fire to be able to get the training done. The more structure he keeps, the way that he has been, listens to his coaches—I think the kid has a bright future in this sport. I think he's doing a good thing. I never hated on the kid. I even unblocked him on Instagram!"
Tony Ferguson, Paddy Pimblett, and the night they fought
Tony Ferguson and Paddy Pimblett stepped into the octagon to test skills in December 2023 with Ferguson riding a six fight losing streak heading into the bout. The matchup drew criticisms from many at the time as they saw it as a fairly blatant bit of matchmaking to put a surging star in a position to secure a statement win over someone with name value who seemed to be in a stark competitive decline.
At UFC 296, Ferguson would end up losing to the former Cage Warriors champion by way of a unanimous decision. Since their bout, Ferguson would go on to take another loss to
Conversely for Pimblett, he went on to colelct a pair of finishes over King Green and Michael Chandler since he collected the victory over Ferguson.
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