If you feel like Tony Ferguson needs to take a minute to recover from his recent string of brutal losses, UFC lightweight Michael Chander agrees with you. Ferguson’s latest Octagon outing, against Nate Diaz, ended in a submission loss for “El Cucuy”, and the fight before that was a front-kick knockout loss to Michael Chandler. In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Chandler urged Tony Ferguson to take some time and consider his options.
“I never want to tell a man what to do with his career. I love Tony as a fan of what Tony has done, he’s been an absolute ridiculous joy to watch over the last however many years he’s been in the UFC. Obviously getting to compete against him was awesome, I wanted that opportunity, and it came and worked out well for me.
Michael Chandler Urges Tony Ferguson to Take Time Out
As you said, he didn’t get beat up, and honestly, I would say he was winning the fight in a lot of ways. I think that fight goes two more rounds and if he keeps chewing up Nate’s front leg, that fight goes to the scorecards and it wasn’t as dominant of a victory as a lot of people would claim the way that it actually ended, with Nate actually submitting him.
Never want to tell a guy what to do, but I do wish him the best. I hope he does take a little bit of time off. It is pretty crazy he fought this past weekend. I’m not fighting for nine weeks, and he was the one who lost consciousness in our fight, so definitely take some time off. Let your body heal a little bit.”
Tony Ferguson has not won a fight since he defeated Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 238 in 2019. Ferguson’s record-breaking run at lightweight was legendary, as “El Cucuy” put together twelve back-to-back victories. He at one point held the UFC interim lightweight title, but was later stripped due to an injury. He fought Justin Gaethje to recapture the interim belt, losing the fight via TKO, and kicking off his five-fight losing streak.
While Tony Ferguson’s glory days were characterized by his dynamic, unpredictable fighting style, Ferguson has lacked the agility and explosivity required to implement his style in recent fights.
Do you think a little bit of time off will be enough for Tony Ferguson to return to winning ways? Let us know in the comments.
