At the moment, Tony Ferguson is still set to take on Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 249 on April 18th. The highly anticipated bout - should it still happen – will determine the king of the lightweight division.
Arguably one of the best lightweights to step inside of the ring, The 36-year-old has thrilled the mixed martial arts community with memorable bouts against the likes of Rafael dos Anjos, Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone.
Before the big-name fights, Ferguson got his start in The Ultimate Fighter. Prior to being accepted in the reality competition, the California native first made a name for himself in lesser known promotions such as PureCombat, National Fight Alliance MMA, and Total Fighting Alliance. After scoring impressive victories over top prospects Brock Jardine, David Gardner, and Chris Kennedy, Ferguson was finally accepted for the thirteenth season of the reality show.
Competing on Team Lesnar, Ferguson fought his way through Justin Edwards, Ryan McGillivray, and Chuck O'Neil, before advancing to the finals to take on Ramsey Nijem. The featherweight defeated each of the three fighters via TKO. Ferguson would also make quick work of Nijem and won a UFC contract on June 4, 2011.
Relive the moment of Tony Ferguson’s debut in the UFC by checking out his TUF fight against Ramsey Nijem below: