Perhaps the most compelling storyline of UFC Fight Night Abu Dhabi last night was about whether Tony Ferguson would retire. ‘El Cucuy’, once the boogeyman of the lightweight division, with a twelve-fight win streak in the UFC’s toughest division between 2013 and 2019, is now on an eight-fight losing streak.
Everybody has called on Tony Ferguson to retire because of this (including UFC CEO Dana White). But, even after he lost to Michael Chiesa on the Abu Dhabi card in the very first round, the 40-year-old is determined to keep fighting- in the UFC or outside it.
Speaking to reporters at the post-fight press conference, Ferguson revealed that the thought of retiring and becoming a coach had crossed his mind. However, his competitive fire was still too strong for him to quit fighting.
The former interim champ pointed out that if he indeed was going to retire, he would have left both gloves in the octagon, instead of just one. Notably, after being submitted via a rear-naked choke against Chiesa, Ferguson dropped him one glove in the octagon, which many believed was a sign of retirement.
“I’m kind of like on that verge of coaching but I’m kind of like no, I still want to fight, I still want to compete, and I still want to do this, I want to do a whole bunch of stuff. If I didn’t have the love both those gloves would have been left in that f**king ring,” he said.
Even if Dana White was to cut Tony Ferguson as the California native must be fearing, the superstar was prepared. ‘El Cucuy’ revealed that if he couldn’t compete in the UFC, he would start wrestling or grappling, determined to continue competing in combat sports, as he had done almost all his life.
“I talk to my homeboy Lloyd right there and what we do is we go get do something else… I’ve always competed in wrestling shoes and that’s the one thing and I know that I’ve always wanted to wrestle so there’s a lot of different things, there’s grappling too… 35 years I’ve been competing in sports. I’ve wore cleats, wrestling shoes. But if I put some shoes on and I go and I don’t have to worry about anybody taking me down I’m a f**k somebody up. So there’s a lot of interesting things,” he added.
That, however, is not what his peers think.
‘El Cucuy’ Tony Ferguson urged to retire by a bevy of UFC stars
While Tony Ferguson has refused to retire and continues to be beloved by fans and fellow fighters alike, not even his most ardent fans want to see him continue fighting. Neither do other fighters, who are usually very hesitant to call on their peers to retire. But some of the biggest names in the promotion, while giving Ferguson his props and respect, called on him to hang up his gloves.
Former two-division concurrent champ Henry Cejduo took to X and pleaded with Tony Ferguson to retire. “We love you Tony but please hang it up,” ‘Triple C’ wrote. Ferguson’s former opponent and former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira told the California native it had been an honor to share the octagon with him, and nudged him to retire, writing: “We love you, all respect… The decision is up to you.”
Aljamain Sterling, Kelvin Gastelum, Kevin Lee, and Terrance Mckinney are a few other former and current fighters who too took to social media, urging ‘El Cucuy’ to call it quits. Alas, all of their pleas seem to have fallen on deaf ears as the 40-year-old has made it clear that he would like to continue fighting in the UFC. Even if he is cut by Dana White and co., Tony Ferguson will continue fighting, even if it is in a different sport.