‘El Cucuy’ is Ready And Waiting to Replace Either of The Two Fighters Headlining UFC 229…
I wonder what the odds are of Tony Ferguson finishing the year out as undisputed UFC lightweight champion? The 34-year-old Michigan native won the interim title when he defeated Kevin Lee last year. However, he would go on to be stripped in the most acrimonious circumstances.
During the build-up to his hugely-anticipated fight against Khabib Nurmagamedov at UFC 226, Ferguson tripped over a cable at a media event and instantly tore his fibular collateral ligament. This put him out of action for 4 months and was the fourth time that Ferguson v Khabib was canceled.
Well, it turns out that he might get another shot sooner than he expected. He’s on standby for the McGregor v Khabib fight, and you can bet that if anyone is prepared to make a spontaneous appearance, it’s Ferguson. As it stands, he’s booked to fight Anthony Pettis on the main card at UFC 229.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm1cIKPHwuV/?hl=en&taken-by=tonyfergusonxt
Prepared
Ferguson is set to fight fellow veteran and former champion Anthony Pettis at UFC 229. From his Instagram it’s very clear that he’s set on getting back to where he thinks he belongs. He also made it clear that he’s first in line should disaster striker and we lose one of our headliners. He said:
“Champ s**t only” Someone’s getting suplexed snap down city style. snapintuit snapjitsu TM I’ve got “3” opponents to train for… F***in A… Bring that s*** on #UFC 29. -Cucuy AKA Champ.”
Well, while most of the stuff he writes is absolutely incomprehensible and slightly weird – we love you Tony, but it’s true – the most important aspect to take away from this is that he is first in line to step up if something goes wrong. Fingers crossed it doesn’t.
Injury Record
McGregor has an excellent record when it comes to keeping fit and healthy. The most serious, long-term injury he’s ever suffered was during his fight against Max Holloway when he tore his ACL. He would be out of action for almost 10 months after that. However, he has never withdrawn from a UFC fight after signing a contract – something which has to be respected.
However, Nurmagamedov has had well-documented weight issues in the past. Did someone say tiramisu? He was once forced to withdraw from a fight with Tony Ferguson, during fight week, after a weight cut went badly wrong. Now that he actually works with nutritionists it’s not such a big problem. He also had a very patchy record with injuries, halting his momentum, but they seem to have cleared up in the past two years.
High Stakes
If you were Khabib or McGregor it might not be a good idea to leave your water bottle down near Tony Ferguson at any point soon. He has a point to prove and he’s still smarting from the indignity of being stripped after getting injured while on duty for the UFC.
Should he have to step up, it would still be a very interesting fight – regardless of who he faced. Many people believe he’s got a better chance of beating Khabib than McGregor, because he’s so good at getting submissions off of his back, and his style is so erratic. A match-up against the Irishman is entirely unpredicatable.
Sorry Tony, but we really don’t want to find out.
