Tony Ferguson is gone from the UFC.
Another UFC veteran has parted ways from the promotion and it’s a fan favorite. The Interim UFC Lightweight Champion was one of the hottest athletes in 2017 as his submission victory over Kevin Lee brought him into the conversation as one of the best 155 pound fighters to step into the octagon.
However, since Tony lost to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249, the 40-year-old hasn’t been the same inside of the octagon. In fact, before Ferguson left the UFC, the lightweight fighter was on a eight fight losing streak.
Tony Ferguson in 2024 just wasn’t the same Tony Ferguson in 2017. As you can imagine, Dana White felt that the former Interim Champion should retire before his loss to Michael Chiesa.
“Yeah, I hope so,” White told reporters at the UFC 302 post-fight news conference earlier this month in Newark, N.J. “Yeah. I would like to see him retire.”
But Tony didn’t plan on retiring anytime soon. In fact, the former UFC star planned on fighting sometime in 2025.
“I left half a f*cking glove in there, and I got it back, so that just tells me I got both pairs of gloves,” Ferguson told Demetrious Johnson on his YouTube Channel. “We’re going to probably take the rest of this season, figure some things out, and we’re coming back hard either January or February, so stay tuned. F*ck no, I’m not retiring. I’m too old to retire.
“I’m 40 years old. I’m halfway to 80. I’ve been competing since I was 5 years old in multiple sports. I’ve wrestled in college. I’ve done all the other stuff, and it’s not like I don’t know anything else. I do. I’m still able to compete. When somebody can run a sprint faster than me, then maybe I’ll start to consider it.”
And Tony will be fighting still, but in the Global Fighting League. It was confirmed on the very same day of him and UFC parting ways that “El Cucuy” had signed with the new MMA promotion.
Thus far, GFL has signed former UFC champions such as Tyron Woodley and Holly Holm. The plan is for the promotion to start in 2025, though a date has yet to be confirmed.
Though Tony Ferguson’s final UFC years weren’t particularly great, he’s still one of the best lightweight fighters of this generation. The 40-year-old always put on an entertaining fight and no one can question his heart within the octagon, even if his skill had taken a notable dip throughout the years. Tony Ferguson ends his career with a record of 25 wins and 11 losses.