It's Time For Tony Ferguson To Hang Up The Gloves

Tony Ferguson: From Apex Predator To Sacrificial Lamb

If fate is a cruel mistress, the MMA gods are leather-clad dominatrices with vats of hot candle wax, 12-inch strap-ons, and zero regard for your safe word.

Once upon a time, Tony Ferguson was the lightweight division’s boogeyman on a jaw-dropping 12-fight win streak; who came within inches of claiming the throne, only to have the interim honour stripped from him due to injury; and a viable candidate to tarnish tour de force Khabib Nurmagomedov’s undefeated record (yes, he really was; don’t @ me).

Nowadays, he’s an aging legend on a six-fight skid who has the entire fandom genuinely concerned about his chances against unranked hype train Paddy Pimblett ahead of their bout currently scheduled for December’s UFC 296, which has been slammed for “shameless matchmaking.”

One cannot help but draw the painfully obvious conclusion that “El Cucuy” is essentially being fed to the new generation of hungry lions to boost their stock. At least in the wake of that brutal (and borderline unwatchable) five-rounder against Justin Gaethje for the interim belt at UFC 249 — the last time Ferguson was competitive.

From Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler to Li Jingliang before being switched for Nate Diaz after Khamzat Chimaev missed weight at UFC 279, it’s been a Rocky Balboa-esque run for old Tony (and not in the uplifting way).

I could sit here and wax poetic about his moments until the cows came home. I could even lament the thrice-cancelled face-off that never was between him and Khabib. That would, however, be navigating away from the main point.

No one is disputing the 39-year-old icon’s exploits. But if the last six fights are any indication, it’s that the conversation needs to change.

This is no longer a matter of pride and certainly not a matter of holding onto any delusions involving an entirely hypothetical comeback fuelled by decades of Hollywood BS, as well as the memory of who Tony Ferguson used to be. This is a matter of reality; of a professional athlete’s declining health in the face of increasingly elite competition.

It’s time to lay down the 4oz gloves, Tony. For your sake and ours, call it a day.

Whatever happens at the promotion’s closing pay-per-view event for 2023, personally speaking, tears are guaranteed (hold on… I’m crying, brother).

If Tony Ferguson tastes defeat for the seventh consecutive occasion, this time at the hands of Paddy Pimblett, they’ll be shed out of heartbreak.

If Tony Ferguson returns to his winning ways, thereby setting himself up for a fairytale retirement story, they’ll be shed out of joy.

Either way, it’ll signal the end of an era: the boogeyman will simply be no more.

— GL

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