Now that he’s found a new home with the GFL; lightweight legend Tony ‘El Cucuy’ Ferguson has revealed the conversation that led to his exit from the UFC.
Despite a meteoric fall from grace that saw him drop eight consecutive losses in the UFC octagon, former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson isn’t giving up the fight game anytime soon.
The future Hall of Famer has found a new home with the Global Fight League and has now shared details of the conversation he had with the UFC brass that led to his release.
- EXPLAINED: Dana White issues surprising response to GFL drafting Tony Ferguson and several other ex-UFC stars
Tony Ferguson details his final conversation with the UFC brass
Speaking via The Ariel Helwani Show earlier this week, Tony Ferguson acknowledged that his final conversation with the UFC was bittersweet in more ways than one.
“When I left the UFC, everything was – I hate to say it because I wanted to fight another time – but obviously, even me, I had to be like ‘I have to excuse myself guys, I don’t want to leave on bad terms.
“So, talking to Dana [White], talking to Hunter [Campbell], and coming to terms with it, it was like we all agreed that it was in the best interest for me to move on and honestly, it was awesome.”
Ferguson’s UFC tenure might have ended on an eight-fight losing streak, but he now has a new lease on life thanks to the GFL – and there are plenty of reasons to be excited about this new chapter of his career.
“I want to go and play different sports, I want to experience new things, new trophies, new rings, new f—– championships, I want to keep adding to my resume.
“For a long time, this sport has been built on the backs of very strong men and women, from the fighters all the way up to the promoter, and I have been knee-deep in most of the f—– changes that have been made in this sport… We can’t be afraid of change.”
Ferguson then cited ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage as he teased: “‘When you shake things up, the cream always rises to the top’ and here we are with the GFL.”
Tony Ferguson reveals he was in ‘heavy negotiations’ for boxing fight
Tony Ferguson will fight Dillon Danis in the Global Fight League later this year (date and location remain TBA) but previously, he was in ‘heavy negotiations’ for a boxing fight against internet star KSI.
“First, I was offered a boxing fight against KSI at first, we were in heavy negotiations which was awesome – I’m ready to take that f—– fight… I was ready to f—– go and they had me wanting to go to a press conference the week after and I was really down.
“I started talking to my team and my dad, I’ve got my dad in my corner now, and we’re like ‘Hey, you know what, let’s finish up Mixed Martial Arts and then we can worry about boxing later’.”
The famous British internet star is actually set to fight Danis in the main event of MF & DAZN X Series 21 on March 29, with Ferguson reiterating that the door remains open to a future boxing venture.
“It wasn’t like we said no, but it’s just we started focusing more towards MMA and then KSI I guess found a different opponent because then it was the [Global Fight League] draft – that was when this s— was going down.
“We want to turn some heads, we want to make sure that everything is good, and we’re just tired of f—– losing… Like it’s dub-season all day from here on out.”