UFC commentator and former two-division champion Daniel “DC” Cormier was around for the rise of Tony Ferguson, and now he’s witnessing Ferguson’s fall in real time. Following Tony Ferguson’s latest UFC appearance – a submission loss to Nate Diaz, his fifth in a row – DC took to his YouTube channel to discuss what he called a “very steep” decline in Ferguson’s abilities.
“The most discouraging thing about it is Tony Ferguson’s decline. It’s sad because for so long, he was so good in a weight division where it was hard to become the champion. So he only held a portion of the belt by becoming interim champion, but Tony Ferguson at his peak was as good as anybody in the UFC. But his decline now has been very steep, and it hasn’t been gradual. It was very fast how he kind of fell off a cliff.
DC on Tony Ferguson’s “Very Steep” Decline
I’m kind of interested to see what Tony Ferguson is going to do next. He said he’s back when the fight was over, and I don’t know what guided him to believe that he’s back in that performance. Sure, he did some things well. But I don’t believe for a second that Tony Ferguson should have taken that performance and feel like he’s building toward something.”
DC has previously discussed Tony Ferguson’s ailing fortunes inside the Octagon. Ahead of the Diaz fight, he pointed out that Tony Ferguson changing camps wasn’t going to change his career skid.
“Man, this is a bit of a tough one, right? Because I tap in on him chasing down that past greatness. I just don’t know if there’s any more of that. I just believe that we all have a time. We all have a time, and I believe that time’s gone. I don’t believe that much is going to change for Tony Ferguson with the camp change. I just believe that his time has passed, and no camp change is going to change that.”
Tony Ferguson’s loss to Nate Diaz is just the latest in a five-fight skid that began with a TKO loss to Justin Gaethje, earning Gaethje the interim lightweight title. Prior to that, Ferguson rode a twelve-fight winning streak to the interim title fight. Since then, however, he has failed to earn a single victory, and endured vicious stoppages in his last two fights, including the front kick knockout loss to Michael Chandler.
Do you think Tony Ferguson should call it a day on his MMA career? Let us know in the comments.
