Tony Ferguson, an MMA icon and legend, entered the octagon against Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296 on a six-loss losing streak, knowing another would make it a record-equalling seventh, for all the wrong reasons. From the get-go, Paddy the Baddy had the upper hand and won the bout on points. Surprisingly, Ferguson has been defiant in defeat and has now vowed to continue competing.
Ferguson, 39, is now sat on a record of seven defeats in a row and hasn’t had success since he stopped Daniel Cerrone way back in June of 2019. While El Cucuy doesn’t have another fight scheduled as of yet, he would surely be an outsider to win any bout where MMA betting odds are concerned at this point., not just because of his record-equalling losing run but also his age, too.
As you will expect, people from the UFC universe have called for Ferguson to call it a day now rather than fight on, with Ben Askren the latest to comment on the situation. Askren pointed out that Ferguson is a competent wrestler but was unable to get off his back for the duration of the fight, something he expected Ferguson to be able to do against Pimblett, a fighter Askren suggests is “not that good.”
But Ferguson himself has vowed to carry on fighting, regardless of what people in and around the sport are saying, and even though a step down in level against Pimblett didn’t result in him being able to address his continued slide further into a pit of defeats. El Cucuy communicated his message to fans via his official Instagram account. Now, the onus will be on Ferguson to somehow right himself and be in a position where he can get a win on the board after a four-year stint without one.
For all Ferguson’s good intentions, it still remains possible that his decision to continue could be taken out of his hands, with UFC President Dana White having also suggested that it’s time to call it a day in the octagon. White said that he’d “love to see him retire.” These calls were strengthened by the observation that in other defeats, Ferguson had been in the bout, but against Paddy the Baddy, he lost every round and never really caused his opponent problems, even though many classed it as a step down in competition for El Cucuy. Ferguson had even called on former Navy SEAL and social media influencer David Goggins to help him through the fight against Pimblett, but to no avail. The hope could be that one final roll of the dice is going to come good and finally end the losing streak, but the former interim lightweight champion knows that another reverse could see him break the record for consecutive losses. While Ferguson has been defiant and insists he’s going to continue, it remains to be seen whether he will or whether he will be allowed to, as the UFC could prevent it from happening too.
