Tony Ferguson has not forgotten Dana White’s hurtful words dating back to 2017 after Ferguson was forced to withdraw from the UFC 223 main event against Khabib Nurmagomedov. Tony Ferguson is said to have tripped over a cable cord backstage during a media appearance, thus injuring his knee and forcing Ferguson to withdraw. Dana White was harsh in his characterization of Ferguson in the immediate aftermath of Ferguson’s injury, and those wounds are still fresh (Transcript via MMA Junkie):
“There was a lot of emotional damage,” Ferguson said at a UFC 238 media scrum. “I mean, just more than anything else, coming from Dana’s mouth, saying that ‘Anybody that wears (sun)glasses inside deserves to have that happen to them.’ Oof, what the (expletive) is that? Dude, I was wearing prescription glasses. I wear them all the time, because obviously I have a couple different things with branding.
“If you guys like Daft Punk, you’d obviously understand why they’d do that. People can dog my style all they want, but it’s my own (expletive). It’s blades and shades all day.”
Tony Ferguson also noted that White’s criticism was not a one-time incident, which is what permanently fractured the relationship between the two:
“Yeah, he kind of made another joke about it,” Ferguson said. “That’s why our relationship is dissed – I don’t really like trying to get too close to him. He’s not my boss. I work for the company. Literally, I’m not trying to be his best friend.
“What’s the quote? He’s talked about Conor (McGregor). He said, ‘Can’t you (expletive) love him?’ And then he’s like, ‘No, we’re not best friends.’ It’s wishy-washy. I don’t want to be close with anyone who’s wishy-washy.”
Tony Ferguson takes on Donald Cerrone at UFC 238 Saturday, July 8, 2019 from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
What are your thoughts on Tony Ferguson’s gripe with Dana White?
