Tony Ferguson still dreams of fighting big names like Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, but there’s one former foe he’d love to get a redo against.
Once upon a time, ‘El Cucuy‘ was one of the most feared men in the UFC’s lightweight division, winning 12-straight fights and capturing the interim 155-pound title. However, his legendary run came to a crashing halt in May 2020 when he stepped inside the Octagon for a clash with Justin Gaethje at UFC 249.
Gaethje put an absolute beating on Ferguson for more than 23 minutes before referee Herb Dean finally saw enough, stepping in and mercifully putting a stop to the onslaught and Ferguson’s unbeaten streak.
Tony Ferguson wishes he could go back and change the way he fought Gaethje
During a recent interview with The Schmo, Ferguson was asked if he could go back in time, who would he have fought during the height of his career, with names like McGregor and Nurmagomedov being potential suggestions from the popular MMA interviewer.
“Oh, son of a… You named them both! Of course it would be a combination plate of McNuggets and Tiramisu,” Ferguson said, referring to McGregor and Nurmagomedov. “It really would. But if I could go back and fight another time, it would be Gaethje. And I would actually give a f*ck and fight that one. I wouldn’t go toe-to-toe; I would fight my fight the way that was supposed to and change the future and see how it would go from that point.
“But I don’t have that want to be able to go back too far, but I could see what that would change. Pretty good stuff. I’m just trying to keep the sport moving.”
While Ferguson never had the opportunity to fight Conor McGregor, he was actually booked to compete against Nurmagomedov no less than five times between December 2015 and April 2020. Sadly, the fight never came to fruition for a variety of reasons, leaving fans with MMA’s biggest what-if.
Ferguson’s loss to Gaethje was just the first in what would eventually become an eight-fight losing streak. After suffering a first-round submission loss against Michael Chiesa in August 2024, the promotion finally parted ways with the California native, ending his 13-year run of competing inside the Octagon.
