Former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson recently brought his epic UFC career to an end.
‘El Cucuy’ is currently riding an eight-fight losing streak. Most recently, he was tapped out by Michael Chiesa at UFC Abu Dhabi in August before terrifying fight fans by refusing to retire in the immediate aftermath.
Earlier this week, Tony Ferguson joined Global Fight League in a move that shocked everyone as the UFC hasn’t confirmed his release yet.
The 40-year-old MMA legend was a part of the GFL draft that saw 120 fighters across 10 weight classes divided into six teams representing a major city. Ferguson will be a part of the Los Angeles squad, which is also home to his former UFC colleagues Holly Holm, Yoel Romero, and Derek Brunson.
Tony Ferguson peaked with UFC title win
Ferguson famously never fought for the undisputed UFC title, despite putting together a historic 12-fight winning run at the peak of his powers.
However, he did get the chance to fight for UFC gold when he squared off against Kevin Lee, who had won five consecutive bouts to convince MMA fans he was the next big lightweight star.
An interim belt was on the line when they clashed in the main event of UFC 216 in October 2017.
Ferguson won with a third-round triangle choke to set up his ill-fated fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, which never came off despite the bitter rivals being matched up against each other on five separate occasions.
An injury scuppered their fourth scheduled bout and saw Ferguson get stripped due to inactivity.
When he returned from his spell on the sidelines, the UFC fan favorite picked up back-to-back wins over Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and Anthony Pettis to finally get his shot at the true lightweight title, which was in the possession of Nurmagomedov.
Unfortunately, a global pandemic meant ‘The Eagle’ was unable to fly out of Russia. Justin Gaethje stepped in to replace him against Ferguson, who got battered for five rounds in the first loss of his ongoing streak at UFC 249 in May 2020.
Kevin Lee calls for Tony Ferguson rematch
Lee hasn’t fared much better than Ferguson during the last few years of his once-promising MMA career.
‘The Motown Phenom’ has lost five times and been cut by the UFC twice since falling short against Ferguson more than seven years ago.
Lee is hoping to get his career back on track after joining the GFL and being drafted by the New York team.
The 32-year-old recently took to social media to reveal how a personal tragedy impacted his career after he lost against Ferguson – now Lee wants the chance to avenge that defeat and kick off his GFL run in the best way possible.
“My head coach passed shortly after my title fight with @TonyFergusonXT in 2017,” he tweeted on Friday.
“That sent my career in a whirlwind. This fight in 2025 will be about redemption.
“I lost my cool and let emotion overcome my skills. This fight in @mmagfl will be different. Time to get what’s mine.”