Tony Ferguson is eager to return to action, even if it means leaving the lightweight division for his original home at 170.
Tony Ferguson has not competed since his TKO loss to Justin Gaethje in May, which was his first loss since 2012. Ferguson was targeted to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 254 and subsequently Michael Chandler for the same event, but both talks fell apart. Ferguson recently disclosed that disproportionate pay is what drove him to reject the Michael Chandler fight, with Ferguson being disgruntled that the UFC allegedly offered Chandler more money. Now, Ferguson is widening his parameters of where and who he is willing to fight, including a household name in the welterweight division.
“I like to fight, if I don’t, I gotta bump up to 170,” Ferguson told ESPN. “I hear Nick Diaz is looking for competition. I’m a 170-pounder … UFC told me, ‘well you’re kinda small’ well I have a big frame. All I was eating is like once a day because I was barely making ends meet. I got the frame for like a 205 pounder.”
Tony Ferguson has proven that he is not too small for 170, as this would not be his first foray into the welterweight jungle. The founder of SnapJitsu debuted in the welterweight division in his MMA career and also when he first entered the UFC, becoming the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 13. Overall, Ferguson is 10-1 in the welterweight division.
As for his long-shot potential foe in Nick Diaz, Diaz has announced that he is planning an MMA return and many other fighters have expressed an interest in fighting him, but there is no word on when or if Diaz will actually return to the Octagon. His last fight was in 2015 in a loss to Anderson Silva that was eventually overturned to a no-contest due to Silva testing positive for drostanolone and androsterone.
How do you think Tony Ferguson would fare in 2020’s UFC welterweight division?
