UFC lightweight Tony Ferguson is on an eight-fight win streak in the UFC. In the last four fights, he won two Fight of the Night awards in a row, and three ‘of the Night’ performance bonuses. He won both his last two fights via Darse choke.
He walks around between fights at 205 pounds and says he could fight successfully at 145, 155, 170, or 185. Ferguson even has an awesome nickname – El Cucuy. El Cucuy is Mexico’s version of the boogeyman, the thing that will get you if you don’t do what your parents tell you to.
What he doesn’t have is a title shot. That goes to UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor, who fights division champ Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, on November 12, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
Ferguson meanwhile fights former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 98 on November 5 in Mexico City, Mexico. If he wins that one, El Cucuy might get a title shot. Or maybe Khabib Nurmagomedov with his perfect 23-0 record gets it, if as expected he gets by Michael Johnson at UFC 205.
However, in a recent conversation with Kevin Iole for Yahoo Sports, Ferguson said he’s more focused on getting a black belt from Eddie Bravo than he is on getting a title shot. He conceded however that being the belt holder has financial advantages.
It does [bring along a lot more money], but I’m not hurting, said Ferguson. My wife has a great job. I have a great, phenomenal job. And you know what? Even if I were to walk away right now and go into the contracting business, I’d probably make more money than I am right now. The best thing about it is, I’m able to support myself in many more ways than one.
If my concern was getting a shot at the belt as soon as possible, I’d probably be [angry]. I’m more interested in receiving my black belt from Eddie Bravo’s 10th Planet jiu-jitsu system than the UFC belt right now. The belt is tarnished, man. I feel like the belt has been in so many different hands, it’s so polluted. It needs to be recycled by the time I get there.
I think everybody wants me to get the title, but for me, I don’t do what everybody else wants me to do. I’m a leader, not a follower, man. I’m a super fighter. I create super fights. The people who actually give me the righteous fights are the ones who are going to be the best for me, give or take whether it’s a title fight. I really don’t give a ****. I really don’t.
It’s hard to say, and I hate to put it into words, I’m the best pound-for-pound in this division, as well as the one before it and the one after it. I guarantee it.
