Tony Ferguson is not retiring despite the current condition of his record and UFC CEO Dana White advising him to do it.
Ferguson made his last octagon appearance last December after facing Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296. The veteran, however, lost to the young Briton via a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). This marked the seven-fight losing streak of “El Cucuy,” forcing White to comment about the matter.
“I would love to see Tony retire,” White said during the UFC 296-post-fight press conference. “When you talk about a skid, you look at the guys he fought, too. That plays a factor into it, and how did he look right up until he lost? Tonight, Tony looked like he should retire.”
Despite this, the fighter expressed zero intent in pursuing retirement, asking fans to “keep the faith.” After that, Ferguson explained that he had a knee injury prior to the Pimblett fight, seemingly trying to justify his last performance. This, nonetheless, didn’t stop the talks about the matter.
With this, the 40-year-old made his latest statement about the move, ultimately dismissing suggestions to hang up his gloves.
“I’m already a Hall of Famer, man,” Ferguson said on the recent episode of JAXXON PODCAST. “They already f*cking know it, and you know what? I’m not retiring. Anytime I get hurt, I come back with a f*cking vengeance because, like I said, you need a slap in that face in order to do it because the only person that’s going to do it is ourselves. Nobody is going to tell us what the f*ck to do. I’m going to fight until the wheels fall off. F*ck retiring.”
While this means fans could still see the fighter in the cage in the coming months, this doesn’t assure that the UFC would still hand Ferguson another match. When that happens, it might push the former interim UFC lightweight champ to find a new home to continue his goal. However, while there are other promotions and sports to consider, with Ferguson’s age and poor current record, such options might be challenging to obtain.
