MMA Fighting - UFC 249 Timeline: Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje

Episode Date: May 7, 2020

With UFC 249 days away, see how Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje ended up in Saturday's main event. Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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June 4th, 2011, the Ultimate Fighter 13 finale, Las Vegas, Nevada. After going 3-0 as a contestant on the UFC competition reality show, The Ultimate Fighter, Tony L. Kukui Ferguson is set to face Ramsey Nidjum to determine the season's winner. Ferguson wins by TKO in the first round, moving his professional record to 11 and 2. Ferguson also earns a $40,000 knockout of the night bonus. Ferguson would go on to pick up victories over Aaron Riley at UFC 135, Jones v. Rampage. The only thing I want to do is I want to make sure that the crowd, you know, they know that I work very hard and, you know, that I could go all three rounds at Aaron Riley.

That's what I was planning on. I knew he was going to come with some headkicks too, but I didn't fear him. You know, anytime that he threw him, you know, I just made sure I blocked and countered with it. My biggest thing was I wanted to make sure that I didn't, you know, I don't want to flake. You know, I want to show up today. I don't want to be there and come out with the, you know, with the loss. I want to come out with that W. Look good at 170.

Why did you drop down to 155? You know, Silva called me up and he said, you know, we got an opportunity for you. And I value opportunities from, you know, the highest guys up there. And, you know, I talked it over with my coach, just talked it over with my manager. And it seemed, you know, they said before, can you make it? And I said, yeah. And so we tried it out. and, you know, I like it.

It's cool, but, you know, 170's nice for me if I like to eat a bunch. You know, I like my steaks too. But 155, I'm a little bit more hungry over here at this weight. You know, I'm 5-11, 76-inch reach. You know, 155 pounds, I think it's perfect. Eve Edwards at the tough 14 finale.

Mike Rio at UFC 166 Velazquez versus Dos Santos 3. I'm back, baby. I'm ready for the next one. I'm going after that strap, so 155 is. Watch out. Katsunori Kikuno at UFC 173, Borough versus Dillashaw. Danny Castillo at UFC 177, Billishaw versus Soto.

If you win this fight, do you want to start getting bigger fights? Do you think that you are being overlooked to a degree in a very crowded division? I mean, let's be honest, 155 might be the most stacked in the UFC, and maybe sometimes your name doesn't get mentioned. Do you think you should be mentioned if you win this fight? I don't really care. It doesn't matter to me, like I said, because, you know what, I'm not in it to rush it.

I'm not in it to be to the top right away. Why? Because when you get to the top right away, sometimes you lose it really quick. Me, I like the stepping process. This is a whole experience. Look at it. Follow me. Take this. Look at this. This is amazing. I don't know if you know this or not, but every single kid that has a dream, this is awesome, dude. I mean, check this out. Check that out. Really. I mean. Your name. How could I not like this? This is a perfect experience for me. All these kids or all these adults that have seen me grow up and all the coaches that have ever, you know, gave me the chance. You know, that gave me that opportunity to change my life around. This is exactly what I'm doing. Thank you guys. I'm not going to quit. Abel Trujillo at UFC 181 Hendrix Lawler 2

and Gleason Tebow at UFC 184 Rousey versus Ngano Is there anyone in particular or any type of fighter or a ranked type of rank level fighter that you want to take on next now that you're coming off of a series of wins? We were taking a look in the back of the top ten I'm ready for every one of them. I'm going to pick them off all from the bottom all the way up to the top so when I get there there will be no questions. I will be the champ.

His only setback during this streak would be a decision loss to Michael Johnson at UFC on Fox 3, Diaz versus Miller. July 15, 2015, UFC Fight Night 71, Mere v. Duffy, San Diego, California. After four years in the UFC, Tony Ferguson is booked against top 10 lightweight Josh the punk Thompson as the co-main event. This would be El Ku Kui's breakout performance. Ferguson would dominate Thompson over 15, minutes. Ferguson would also take home his fourth performance bonus of his UFC career. December 11th, 2015, the Ultimate Fighter Season 22 finale, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Originally booked as Tony Ferguson versus Habib Numergamitov, Habib was forced to withdraw due to a rib injury, a little over a month away from the fight. Top lightweight contender, Edson Barbosa would replace Habib in the co-main event spot. Tony, a lot of people were looking forward to your fight against Khabib Nirmagamadeov. Unfortunately, it's not happening. This is a pretty good backup plan. How disappointed were you, though, when you found out he was out?

I was pissed, Ariel. I'm going to be honest with you. I got up to 201 pounds preparing for this bear wrestler, and I want to take him to his home. I want to make sure. Ensemble, right? You take him from their feet to their back. What's that? Instant win, baby.

And then I was going to finish him. He robbed me of that. Put you in a bubble, buddy. So when they offered me, Khabib, I already knew that it was going to be Edson Barbosa. just knowing that, you know, with Khabib's background and knowing that he does get hurt, he doesn't have anybody overseeing his training. You know, and he's not smart enough to be able to slow it down or get some rest because resting is a part of the fight game.

But Edson Barbosa has Eddie Alvarez, you have Frankie Edgar over there. I have zero UFC fighters I work with for a specific reason, because my energies are solely on what I work on. I don't have to belong to these big gyms because I am the big gym in Orange County. What if they say, okay, we want the Chhabib fight? Are you interested in that anymore, or have you moved on? Ah, it would be awesome. Wrap them up in a bubble and it would be good.

The fight ends up being one of the best fights of 2015. Ferguson eventually wins by submission midway in the second round. Ferguson would take both Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night honors. Fight of the Night, Tony Ferguson defeating Edson Barbosa. We just got word, by the way, that Ferguson was transported to the hospital, but checked out all good, no problems there, so that is obviously good to you. I mean, obviously he has some cuts, and, you know, he lost a little bit of blood, but it was a tremendous win for Tony.

He has definitely stepped up to the play. He now has seven wins in a row that's second longest in the UFC's lightweight division behind Donald Tarone, who fights for the belt next week. Has he done enough now to warn a title shot? Because I think you may have tweeted that. I don't want to ask him. And I may have a bone to pick, but let's go on the record here. He 100% deserves it.

I do not understand the people saying that he doesn't at this point. It's seven wins, six finishes. He's beaten guys like Josh Thompson in the way that he's beating them. I mean, it's incredible. I'm still buzzing about that fight. That was a tremendous fight. That was so much fun. And how lucky are we that that fight didn't get stopped in the first round

without a legal upkick? Oh, yes. That would have been devastating. That would have kind of killed the show a little bit because it wasn't that good of a card until that point. I mean, I just love everything Tony Ferguson is doing right now. His whole persona, his intensity, his style, his entries and his exits and just the way's movements. and he's going for these rolling knee bars and stuff. Just everything about that fight was so, so entertaining.

And Barbosa just smashing him in the body the entire time. I thought that was a fantastic fight, perhaps a fight of the year contender. June 13, 2016, UFC Fight Night 91, McDonald v. Linnaker, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Originally booked as Ferguson v. Michael Kiesa, Kiesa pulls out of the fight due to injury, and on very late notice, UFC newcomer Lando Vanada fills in,

as the co-main event. But I'm a very scary opponent for this division. At 155 pounds, I don't walk around 155 pounds. Right now I'm going to saw about 190 right now. And I feel great. I changed a couple of things up in this camp. I'm ready to take that title. This is my time.

This year or next year. It doesn't matter who's in front of me. I said I was going to pick apart this whole entire division. I really did. And that's why I'm not afraid to take any person that calls me out or take a chance to even go up to 170. but when I signed on the out of line for 155, I said I was going to wipe out this division.

So next, it would be Alvarez. Pettis is gone. I picked apart Edson Barbosa with most respect, and Edson Barbosa picked apart Anthony Pettus. I was telling you guys a long time ago that I would pick apart Pettis. But he's out of the question. But when he goes, his rank,

goes higher than mine, then he'll be there on the spot. And yet another wildly exciting fight, Ferguson wins by Darschoke midway into the second round. Both fighters earn Fight of the Night honors. March 4th, 2017, U.S. 209, Woodley v. Thompson 2, Las Vegas, Nevada. For the third time, Tony Ferguson and Habib Nurma Gama Maddov are booked to face each other as the co-main event. The stakes this time are much higher with an interim UFC lightweight champion belt now on the line.

I want to stay honest with you guys, but of course I'm exciting about this. I can't wait when cage close. I want to feel his power. I want to feel his striking, speed. I want to feel this guy because we're supposed to fight two times before. Now we finally fight. That's why. That's why.

A little bit nervous, but everybody's nervous. Nobody won't lose, you know. I have 24 win streak. You guys think I want to lose? Of course, I don't want to lose. But I stay focused. I stay focused on this guy. There's two people in one referee.

and that dude's gonna have to stop me from beating the shit out of Kabir. Well, you know you can love somebody without liking him, man. I love Kabir, man. He's my brother in arms. We're all here. We're all for one. I got peace with him, but inside that we got beef. We gotta squash this shit.

I'm tired of it, man. He's a bully. I'm gonna shut him up. I got respect for him and his father and his whole camp. But the next time they try to surround me and my team, they got problems. It's the other day they tried to pull that stupid shit. And I'm a dangerous man inside and outside of that octagon, baby.

This is a battle between two warriors. I got a nine fight win streak. What sounds better than nine? Fucking ten, baby. We're here at 10 plan of Jitsu. I'm here with my squad from Tony Ferguson M. May. Dude, we're here for snap jitsu all day, baby. He's gonna find out what that means real hard. I'm gonna put so much pressure on this kid. I'm gonna hit him so hard in his stomach.

I hope this dude takes a knee. And if he does it, I'm gonna take him down and let him up, and I'm gonna beat him mentally. This dude has no fucking way, no way to beat me on my way to victory. There's some weight. I want to look good for you guys. I want to make sure that I look like a champion, I fight like a champion. I am a champion.

So I put out some extra pounds, baby. Put out some extra palms. Just wait for the next time. Twice as big. Hey guys, if you check your emails, we did just announce that the Kabib-Fergus fight has been canceled. Khabib has been released from the hospital, but he was not medically prepared to fight due to weight management issues.

Breaking news, as you just heard it, Habib Nurmaghamanov, versus Tony Ferguson, one of the most anticipated fights of the year, the fight that both combatants called the best lightweight fight of all time has officially been canceled. UFC lightweight, Habib Nirmagamadav was transported to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center Thursday evening due to weight management medical issues. He was treated and has been discharged. The scheduled interim lightweight championship out between Nirmagamatov and Tony Ferguson at UFC 209 has been canceled.

Tony, you went through a grueling camp. You got here today, you made weight, and then you found out that the fight was off, that Habib Nurma Gmatov had to go to the hospital. What was your thought? What went through your mind when you got that news? I thought it was a nightmare, man. Something worse than Al-Kukui. There's just some shitty stuff that you had to go through.

This happens in the fight game. No disrespect to the UFC or to Khabib. Everything happens for a reason. This is a fighter sport, man. So I want every single one of you to give love for the UFC and give love to Kabib. And I really want you guys to buy this pay-per-view

because the rest of the fucking guard is amazing. Stay two fans. Stay awesome. Make sure you guys follow me on my way to victory. And I love every fucking one of you. Tony Ferguson, ladies and gentlemen. July 7, 2017, the Ultimate Fighter Season 25 finale,

Las Vegas, Nevada. After a very successful run in the World Series of Fighting Promotion, The 15-0 Justin Gachie makes his UFC debut against Michael Johnson. I feel like a lot of these guys think that in order to make money, they have to create an act. I want to be straight up. Facts are facts.

Nobody's infallible. I can't be knocked out. Duh. It's what the sport is. We punch each other in the face. I take too much damage. Okay, I haven't taken a hard enough punch because I'm 17-0 with 14 knockouts. I've broken every single person I've fought.

Melvin Galar went to a split decision with me. He left the third round in a wheelchair. He did not walk to the back. He left in a wheelchair. You cannot make it pass up. If you don't knock me out, you're not going to make it past a third round with me. It's easy. My pressure is, my timing and pressure is the definition of MMA.

And I'm comfortable here. I'm not going to try to get away from your shots. I'm going to meet them. I'm going to eat them. On my forehead, you're not going to touch my chin. And then you have to be ready for what I'm. I'm firing back. I hit harder than you. Guarantee it. Last thing. Undefeated, you know, you're a WSO champion.

If you beat Johnson, how far away do you think you are from a Tyler shot? Do you think you're pretty close? I'm not sure. Don't care. Don't know, don't care. I cannot look past Johnson. He's dangerous. You know, when he's confident, so he's going to be dangerous in the first three minutes. And then, like I said, I'm going to break him. I'm going to break him. Plain simple. I'm going to kick him in the leg, take his body, control his mind, control his heartbeat. and he's going to want out.

Guaranteed it. By the end of the third, he won't answer the bell in the fourth. The highlight lives up to his reputation and delivers one of the best action fights of the year. Gaechi wins by TKO late into the second round. His first showing earns Gai Chi the rare double bonus for fight and performance of the night. I'm there to break people.

Like I said, I would drop him and I'd let him up. That's what I did. And stylistically, what are your thoughts in a matchup with Tony Ferguson? It's what I want. Michael Johnson whooped his ass, so I will break him. You cannot look ahead. I'm not infallible. Never will be.

I will lose, like I said. Not scared to get knocked out. Not scared to lose. I'm scared not to perform. And I'll take every single day towards the next fight to get ready for it. I don't care who's next. I want to fight Ferguson, but he'll probably say I'm not worthy. He lost to Michael Johnson.

I just finished him, so he'll be full of shit when he says that. The following morning, Tony Ferguson tweeted, You hit like a bitch, you're not on my level. But if it's for the belt, I'd be glad to beat that ass for the interim. October 7, 2017, UFC 216 Ferguson versus Lee, Las Vegas, Nevada. Tony Ferguson is set to face Kevin Lee for the interim UFC lightweight championship. I don't care who the fuck sitting next to me. I don't care who I'm fighting.

I don't care who's got the next opportunity for belts. I don't give two fucks. The only thing that matters is next week at UFC 216 between me and Kevin Lee. I'm going to be on my fucking way to victory. And I've said that from day one and I'm not changing, son. It's good to see you you're about to fight for the interim title this time. We were just here back in March, you were about to fight for the interim title. I think you were, like, standing, like, right over there.

I was actually over there. That's why I first started. I went over there, and then Kevin took my spot. It's okay. Does it feel weird? Like, you feel like this will only feel like you're actually fighting for a belt finally after all the wins, after all the time, come Saturday when you're facing the guy, because it seems like you've been burnt many times along the way? Yeah.

I mean, yes or no. I mean, it is what it is. I said I was going to beat everybody in this division. And I've been doing that. I've been sending people packing. And, you know, this guy was the only one that wanted to sign him down the line. He had enough balls. I mean, Nate, Alvarez, Gae, Kabebeep wasn't in the picture.

I mean, unfortunately, and I don't know why. So what I needed was a dance partner. I don't like to talk a lot of shit, so he covered it. You've been amping it up a little bit on Twitter these days, and it seems like you're not afraid of being the bad guy necessarily. I wouldn't say bad guy, it's just confident. If you mistake my confidence for cockiness, whereas I know damn right what I want to do,

I know how hard I'm going to work, nobody's going to distract it. You know, my wife told me she's like, I want you to go to Big Bear. When I went up to Big Bear, I didn't even scroll. I didn't even look. I waited until I came down the hill to open it back up. Probably the best thing I could have did, because with Twitter and Instagram, I love my gift worse.

I love having fun. And then the cool thing is it's a nice way for me to be able to relate to my fans, to be humanized. Because we're not superheroes here. I like to say I'm a superhero because I create chaos when I need to. That's my superpower. And I can control it and mold it and form it like a Renaissance man and paint that picture for everybody with everybody's blood.

but that's what I do. Ferguson defeats Lee by Triangle Choke four minutes into the third round. Tony Ferguson is now the interim UFC lightweight champion. So if Connor's next, no matter what, if he doesn't want to defend it, then whatever, I don't care.

I'm here right now. I just won this belt. I'm fresh. I don't have any injuries. I'm ready to go back to the drawing board on Monday. There's a couple of things I really want to work on and sharpen up, especially my elbows.

My takedown defense, I mean, really, I don't care. My takedowns are amazing. My takedown defense was amazing, but that's what I did. I sacrificed my takedown defense to get into my submission game. I wanted to demonstrate to everybody that I'm a full, complete, mixed martial artist. I don't just have hands.

Because if in the beginning, I was knocking out people. You guys remember that. And then I learned Muay, and then I learned jujitsu. And I just learned how to put it all together. You don't have to take so many shots like I did in the first one, but you have to might. sometimes give one to take two or take one to give two. I took all the chaos from this week and I

didn't want to bring negativity into it. This town had so much negativity already. I needed to do something different for myself to demonstrate that I wasn't going to let anything get to me and not let anything get to the people. People are still hurting man. There's a lot of things going on in this world that you can worry about besides being pissed off and angry and trying to use that aggressiveness inside that octagon. For myself it's completely different. I have a one-year-old that's going to be too soon. And for me, I want to demonstrate the best kind of a person that I can be. Not for you guys. I can give two shits for you guys. I do it for my kid. I do it for my family. Why? Because they deserve it. You guys deserve it too. In essence, honestly, I have fun with it.

And like I said, it's a growing up process, man. We all make mistakes and we all grow from it. But right now I'm the champ. I'm here to defend this thing. And I'm here to go after the real belt. I'm not going anywhere. But I'm going to be humble in this whole entire thing. I'm going to demonstrate to the younger generation that they don't have to talk shit in order to get their things done. I got 10 consecutive victories. I hold a lightweight consecutive victory thing. And I'm aiming for that Hall of Fame spot. Looking at the big picture, not the small one.

Kevin. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Yes, sir. I'm a man, I'm growing, and this isn't what it's about. What it's about is about giving it your all, your peace, and finding that piece, and I'm finding it. Not sure if you saw, but Chabib tweeted you, congratulating you and called you the real champion. That's awesome, dude. I mean, honestly, that's great.

This sport right now, like I said, there's so much in the world that's going on, that there's, like, so much more to worry about than that. And right now, I'm excited. I'm happy. I can't wait to go see my son. I really can't. I get my wife and my kid a giant hug and get some pizza in my stomach. December 2, 2017, U.S. 2, 18, Holloway versus 11th.

Aldo 2, Detroit, Michigan. Gachi's next opponent is former UFC and Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez. He said on Monday that this is for the violent championship of the world. Are you down with those stakes? I'm 18 and 0 of 15 knockouts. Because anybody in the history of MMA fighting had 15 knockouts in their first 18 fights?

I don't want to say definitively. I'd have to look it up, but that is pretty damn impressive. Yeah, so I think I own that title already. Oh, okay. My mindset is different. My mindset is killer be killed. I'm ready and willing to do whatever I have to do, give whatever I have to give in order to prove a stupid point that I'm the most violent person or the best fighter in the world, which means

nothing in the grand scheme of things. But, you know, that's what I signed up for when I was four years old, started wrestling. So I might as well be invested fully now. In the all-action fight, Eddie Alvarez hands Gaichi the first loss of his career by TKO late in the third round. The fight would earn Gaichi his second fight of the night bonus. April 14, 2018, U.S. Fox 29, Porier v. Gaichi, Glendale, Arizona. The highlight returns to action against top contender Dustin Poirier. Adrenaline's a hell of a drug, and I'm in the pocket, and my adrenaline is pumping.

You know, my adrenaline and everybody in the arena's adrenaline is pumping. So every time you come watch me, like, this is going to be the most exciting live. event going on in the world on Saturday, April 14th at about 6.30. So you better be there. If you are there, you will remember it for the rest of your life. After three exciting back and fourth rounds, Jorge finishes Gaichi by strikes early in round four. The fight earns Justin Gaichi another $50,000 for a fight of the night. You guys, this is an unforgiving sport, and I don't recommend it to my enemy. but it's what I was born and bred to do.

I got about five, five, you know, before this, I said I had six left. I got five fights. I fight for very, I fight for, I don't, I want the biggest fights possible, you know, coming off two losses, that's hard to say, but you want to see me fight. And if you don't see me fight live, you will regret it when I'm done. I don't fight to win or lose, as stupid and crazy as I am. Oh, man, that sounds. I go in there to entertain people.

this is an entertainment business. I fight for money. And what I do helps me get paid a lot of money. August 25th, 2018, UFC Fight Night 135, Gachi versus Vic, Lincoln, Nebraska. Now on a two-fight losing skid, Gachi is set to face surging prospect, James Vic. You're welcome, James.

Welcome to the big show. You get to fight the main event. You made it, buddy. Yeah, thank you, man. It's your last main event. You're about to be on a three-fight losing streak and shipping your ass back to the B-leagues to fight tomato cans again. And I'll still have more money in my bank account. I got more money than you right now, bro.

I fought four times in the last year and I won my fights. You lost two out of three. You fucking suck, dude. I've made more money in bonuses. You're a can-cratcher. You're a can-crusher, bro. You patted your record against B-level competition. I made $200,000 in bonuses.

You've been fucking congratulations. You haven't made that in your 10 fights. Congratulations. Don't break your hand patting yourself on the ass, bro. Well, you're welcome. Are you going to run like a bitch the whole time, or you're going to stand there and fight me for these people? Yeah, I'm not the Homer Simpson of MMA like you are, bro.

I'm not going to take a beating, but you will get knocked the fuck out. You take 10 significant strikes per minute. That's 50 shots a round that you ain't lasting three rounds of me taking all that beating like that. You're 29 years old and you're punched drunk and slurring when you talk, bro. So you're getting knocked out. going to stand like a retard and fight the way. You're going to run like a bit. But you are going to get slept.

You're going to get knocked out within three rounds for short. In one of the most devastating finishes of the year, Gaichi knocks Vic out less than 90 seconds into the fight. Gaichi earns yet another performance bonus. October 6th, 2018, UFC 229, Habe v. McGregor, Las Vegas, Nevada. Stripped of the interim UFC title, due to inactivity, Tony Ferguson faces the former UFC

NWC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. What up, fuckers? You miss me? Check this out. It's been five months since my injury. Took a long fucking time for me to be here. They took my belt. They took a bunch of zeros from my paycheck. How do you think I fucking feel? People want to call me weird. They want to call me cringe. You want to use my shit and not give me credit?

Fuck you guys. Straight out. I'm a fucking chant. You see this gold right here? I didn't lose my belt. They took it from me. The one thing it didn't take is my smile. So after my surgery, I made it a conscious decision to not want anybody else's help that wouldn't want to help me. So yeah, I got a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. It's still there.

Fucking weighs a lot. Consistency times effort equals fucking confidence. I'm up here fucking in front of you as a new man. Like a Phoenix reborn. I'm on fucking fire, guys. So anybody you fucking put in front of me? and put in front of me, he's got to work harder than me. They better run faster than me. And the better fucking hit me in the right spots because if they don't, they're going to

piss me off. Hold on. I'm not done yet. Don't be rude. I'm the fucking champ up here. Recognize it. If I got some fucking short time, I got my shut off and I got my caught off. Seriously, don't matter what the fuck I'm wearing. You give me my respect. This is a rat race, but I'm no rat. I'm a fucking turtle. Ninja turdage. So which one's your favorite? I like Michelangelo. You know how many times I had my leg kick this camp? Take a guess.

A thousand. I don't know. Just kidding. This belt means a little bit more. This is the real fucking belt. I don't know if you guys realize that. This is the real shit. Why did you bring the belt to it?

Because this is the real shit. Whatever trophy that they're fighting for, this has got ten fights in a row. You guys realize that? This has got time. I'm energy, sweat, blood invested into it. I put, think about it like this. If I wanted to be the CEO position of this company,

I started from the fucking mail room. I started from delivering, fucking mail, man. And I was fucking that guy, I walked in on like, happy as fuck. Why? Because it gave me a shot. And I knew where it could take me. So, like, honestly, I love this company. I love fight for this company.

Making weight is the easiest part. You know, I'm only like five pounds away, guys. You're not awesome. You and your baby. El Kukui defeats Showtime by corner stoppage after two rounds. I'm the fucking champ. You guys realize that, right? I've been the champ.

I am the champ. You have these two knuckleheads over there making this sport look bad. So when I had that media scrum over there and I yelled at all you guys, don't be feeding that bullshit. Straight up. I am the champ. I don't have a belt up here. I don't need to have a belt up here and beat a champ.

So if you guys want to feed that, go ahead, put that in your pocket and take it with you. But what I'm doing here is cleaning up the sport. This is an Olympic level type of sport. and it needs to be cleaned up. I've been training like an Olympian. I've talked so many different things out of my life that I didn't need anymore, and I just felt lifted.

So awesome. Such a great feeling. Khabi and I deserve to fight. We need to fight for the fifth time. We need to try this out again. He is the champ. I was the intern champ. I'm still the fucking champ.

There's no BS in this. Connor does not want to fight me. I saw him when we were walking out to the wayans. He walked up, he did his strut. I turned around and he fucking stopped. He looked like a deer in headlights. Nobody wants to be trapped inside that cage with me. They don't want to get caught by my elbows.

They don't want to get hit by any of my kicks, and they don't want their conditioning checked by me. I'm a different animal than these guys. They want to be animals inside there? I'm the dog catcher, guys. All right? I got a noose for them. There's nobody in this division that's ready for me.

You guys want to talk about money fights? You want to talk about this and that. I have the belt inside my room. I'll match my belt up with Connors or with Kabib's any day. I'm all in. I'll bump up to 170 when I'm done here, and I'll clean up that division, too. You gotta try to take this smile from me.

You gotta beat me inside that octagon. And I don't see not one of these fighters in the UFC doing that. I'm setting myself up for life for my 401K and everything else with my professional team. I'm taking snap into it global. You guys have no idea. Me and my sharks, we're going big with this stuff. Health and wellness, man. It's awesome.

I did my thing in four months. A lot of these PT guys, I'm going back from my PT, you guys. You guys know what that is, right? It's a doctorate. That way you motherfuckers have to listen to me now. Get it? You got Khabib. Kabeb's a game opponent.

He's a real fighter. I don't know about that BS that happened afterwards, but emotions flare inside there. You guys have no idea what we have to prepare for. I recommend any of you guys to pick up a pair of gloves and a pair of handwraps and go spar somebody. See if that makes you excited a little bit. Because if that does excite you,

then you're in the right sport. Okay? What the UFC's going to do with that? That's not on me. I'm going to prepare for the next guy that's in front of me. Straight up. When I'm hurt, I love it.

I love that feeling because it's real. That's the most realest feeling that you could ever have is being in pain because everything else, happiness could be fake, crying could be fake, but pain, shit. That's real. I got kicked in the leg. It hurt a little bit, but I walked it off.

When I got kicked in the leg and I smiled, that was real. It did not hurt. It took me four months because I've had great trainers, trainers meaning doctors, okay? Doctors, therapists that have helped me battle back from my arm. Dude, I've had how many surgeries, guys? How many? Who knows the right amount of surgeries I've had?

None of y'all. I've had five to six surgeries. I can't even remember how many surgeries I've had. But that's plenty of time to learn a thing or two about a thing or two, don't you think? And take an opportunity to say, you know what, I'm not going to take your condescending handshake therapist, guy. I'm going to do this shit on my own. You're telling me six months to a year. I'm going to do it in three months.

I did it in less than five months. gentlemen. Why? Because I was good health, good rest. I took the Kobe Bryant approach. The more I got towards this fight. Sleep less, run more, workout more, feel better, eat good, rest more. Repeat the process over and over and it showed inside that octagon tonight. Anthony Pettis, a very game opponent. We did our homework and we saw him quit. We made him quit. March 30th, 2019, UFC on ESPN 2, Barbosa versus Gaichi, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Gaichi is booked yet again as a fight night main event, this time against perennial top contender Edson Barbosa. Gaichi knocks out Barbosa in the first round.

And yes, you guessed it, Gaichi earns yet another performance bonus check. I was great. I was great that night. You know, this is a very finicky. sports I mean sometimes you're on sometimes you know you have a bad night and I was on fire that night you know unfortunately for him everything I threw landed and I was just on fire again I was I experienced it in the big fight the the patience the ability to to see things to to recognize things to make a game plan you know to as it as the fight evolves I've never

had that before and so I was really excited to go in there created again and I had the same experience. So I'm, you know, I'm fighting night and day from how I fought Johnson. You know, the previous, let's see, one of my 20 and two, so the previous 19 fights, or 20 fights, I fought different. Every time I stepped in there, it was different. And these last two have been different. And you always want to say that as you, you know, as you're winning. But that's the, that's the honest truth. My approach is different. And it's very refreshing to go in there and have that experience. I don't know if I have that one-shot power because I've never one shot at anybody before Vic.

But I mean, I think I, with the pay, my coach told me from day one, if you have a little bit more patience and you don't try quite as hard, you will put people to sleep if you just place your shots. And so, yeah, I saw that. And I was like, you know, no matter what, if you get the finish, people will, that's all people will remember. So I went in there. I was like, you know, if I was to have a slow two minutes, then I think I would be forgiven to myself as long as I finish him. But no matter how I fight, it's going to be. I'm going to be in their face. The pressure is nothing they will ever experience.

And I just have a lot of fun doing it. I found success early, and I never changed it because I kept having success. And, you know, in life, you'd be a fool to change your route if you're finding success. So, you know, I couldn't you turn. I couldn't take a left, couldn't take a right. I had to keep going down the path that I was on. And that was go out there, create chaos. And I was never the guy that never came out on the winning end of that.

faced Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Porreier and even then after the Portier or after the Eddie Alvarez fight I wasn't sure that it didn't wasn't still successful so I had to go in there and do it again because I had a lot of success against Eddie fighting that fight and I had a lot of success against Dustin fighting that fight however coming off

two losses I was able to go back and say let's change you know my coach was trying the whole time he was the best in the world I should listen to him but I you know he also didn't want to say let's change and then I lose and then I kind of, you know, this is a mental game.

That would have broke me in a sense. If I was to change without losing and then to lose then, I would have been like, whoa, you know, why did you do that? And then I would start questioning myself, questioning my approach, my technique, everything. He let the cards, you know, play out like they should have played out. I went out there, fought stupid fights and lost two times in a row, and then we were able to go back to the drawing board and make changes. June 8th, 2019, UFC 238, Sehudo versus Morayas, Chicago, Illinois. Tony Ferguson returns to the cage against UFC veteran Donald Cowboy Soroni.

Can you explain to us, I don't think anyone's really appreciated how much it hurt you that the UFC took that interim title off you? There was a lot of emotional damage. I mean, just more anything else coming from Dana's model saying that anybody that wears glasses inside deserves to have that happen to them. What the fuck is that? I was wearing prescription glasses. So I wear them all the time because obviously I have a couple of different things with branding.

I mean, if you guys like Daft Punk, you obviously don't understand why they do that. It's just my thing, man, and you know what? People can jocke my style as much as they want, but it's my own shit. It's blades and shades all day. Have you spoken to Dana about those comments because it's, like you said, it's pretty harsh. Have you ever even addressed them with him? Yeah, he kind of joked about it. I made another joke about it.

But that's where our relationship is kind of dist. I don't really like try to get too close to him. It's not my boss. I work for the company. I mean, literally I'm not trying to be his best. friend. I mean, you know, he's like, what's the quote? He's like, he's talked about Connor. He said, can't you fucking love him? And then he's like, no, we're not best friends. It's wishy-washy. I don't want to fucking be close to anybody that's wishy-washy.

I'm not here for that. I'm here to represent myself, represent my country, the United States. I am Mexican. I am American with Mexican parts. It's dope. Fucking powerful. It works. It's like, I'm not going to do anything different. I'm going to stay consistent. Yeah, I can be an asshole. I can be right here. I'm not going to be everybody's friend, but I'll shake everybody's hand if they're respectful for it to me. I'll give you a great interview and I'll tell you exactly. exactly how it is. I shoot from the cuff, and that's all I am. I'm a bartender. I like to serve everybody.

Ferguson defeats Seroni by Dr. Stoppich after two rounds of fighting. I got 12 fights in a row, man. I should be calling the fucking shots. I mean, I've had a title already. I mean, fuck, everybody else needs an eval. It's kind of funny, but I don't know what else I have to do in this division to keep after it, man. I mean, like I said, it's a round robin tournament, but I'm tired of it, man. I'm here to stay. I am the fucking champ. You know, I don't have to go on and refurbish a lot of that stuff. You guys know what I'm about. You know I'm about the business. You guys know I'm about learning and growing. And, uh, fuck, man, if Dustin Porre don't do it, I'm going to do it, man. Turmousseau needs an asswhip, and he's

two to the stomach for me. And if it's McNuggets, you know, for money fight or whatever, I mean, literally, he's an athlete too. I know the division misses him inside here. You know what I mean? I'm pretty sure he misses the fight game too. I mean, seriously, we need to see these fighters keep coming out here and representing themselves in the sport because that's why you fucking got in it. Like you're an athlete, man. Keep coming back. I mean, when it's your time to retire, go and fucking retire, man. I mean, seriously.

But if you've made a name in this sport and you're able and you're within the age limit, fucking keep competing. And I really want to keep doing that. I want to keep representing myself and my team, my family, and I want to keep winning. What sounds better than 12? 13. But it sounded a hell of a lot better with a title shot and having that 13 victory. September 14th, 2019.

UFC on ESPN Plus 16, Soroni versus Gaichi, Vancouver, British Columbia. The highlight is booked in another main event, this time against former title challenger and former sparring partner, Donald Cowboy Seroni. Friend, foe, does not fucking matter. Saturday night. You know, I would be doing him a disturbance if I didn't try to knock him out like I have every opponent. He's a second. I just saw an interview. He's a second man to call me Homer Simpson, and he's the second man that will go to sleep for it.

My nickname is the highlight. There's a reason. I got six bonuses out of five fights. I'm 100% of UFC of either getting knocked out or knocking people out. And I will continue. When I'm done, I hope I either, I do not want to win or lose without them going to sleep or me going to sleep. That's what I do. It's not for the faint of heart.

What I do is not for the faint of heart. But I'm a different breed. I was born and raised and bred to do this. I'll say it over and over. I wouldn't recommend this to my enemy. But Cowboys in for one tough motherfucking night. Saturday night, I promise you that. Win or lose, we're both, if it goes

past eight, nine minutes, we're both on the brink of death. And that's how I want it. Gachey easily dispatches Surinie by first round knockout. Justin Gachi has now earned seven performance bonuses for his first six UFC fights.

I've learned that I have a couple of sledgehammer attached to these arms, so as long as my feet put me in position and I have a great coach that has me balanced at all points, I can throw from the left side, from the right, side as I'm taking angles. That's what we're working on and now it was very successful tonight. I was great tonight, you know, I'll give myself that. You mentioned you don't have. Who deserves the next time of shot?

Tony Ferguson. Where do you think wins out by the position? Khabib Naramameda. April 18, 2020. U.S. 249 Habib versus Ferguson, Lamore, California. For the fifth time, the champ Habib Narmagamatov is scheduled to face the number one contender Tony Ferguson, and what the UFC has called the most anticipated fight ever. It's tiram of fucking sue time, motherfuckers.

We're keeping it sweet, we're keeping it savvy, and we'll keep it a little classy. The hype is real. You better fucking be there, Khabib. I'm glad you showed up. Just sit it down and walk away. I think we have to fight. Fuck your legacy. Like, I think his... He deserves this, you know.

He is a real challenge. You know, I respect his skills, you know. But, you know, like, like fighter, he's very good fighter. But why people don't like him? Because he's stupid guy, you know, that's why. Nobody understands him. I'm very educated, motherfucker. Like, honestly, like, he looked like stupid, you know.

That's why nobody like him. But like fighter, he's a very good fighter, you know. And I respect this skill. And it's why he here, you know, like biggest fight on the air. And we'll see. April 18. The champs you're only, motherfucker. I can't understand you, son of a bitch.

I'm gonna fucking mat. I'm gonna mop the mat with your fucking hat. You can't wait. I'm gonna resolve this for training. I'm gonna go there so soon. I know. Oh, it's gonna be fucking. When I smash him, when I make him,

when I make him crap, people are gonna talk about his old. I'm gonna hit you so hard in your stomach. You're gonna piss fucking blood, kid. This kid's a bully. He's never been. been in a street fight, never actually been thrown into a trash can or like any kind of shit like that. So now you're fucking with somebody that you don't want to have to bring this.

Sunglasses. I'm going to street fight you. I can eat you. You understand. Who are you? You're American guy. In American, you cannot fight in street. There we go.

I am from real mountain. I can eat you in street. Here we go. What are you talking? All you Americans, right, that are cheering for this little bitch? I don't care all Americans. They know. They know where I'm from.

I can eat in the street fight. What are you talking about? When you fight in street? Tell me when you fight in street? When you fight in street? Tell me. Okay, for example. I'm from fucking Oxnard, bitch. What? What is this? What is this, Oxford? And Muskegan Mission. Hey, Tony, look at me. Look at when you fight last time? When you fight last time in the street? Tell the people true.

Tell the people true. Man, it was a one-punch fucking knockout. What? When you fight in street? We talk about... Pops always told me you had... I can eat you in street fight. You think this is cage fight in street? You think this is cage fight? I'm going to throw you in the fucking cage.

I'm going to broke you in street fight. You understand. What are you talking about? The championship match was originally booked to take place at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York. However, due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, local government officials prohibited the show due to safety concerns and shelter-in-place orders. South by Southwest, the music and arts festival got canceled today because of the coronavirus outbreak. any concerns, anything that you guys can do to shot up.

Hey, it's a legitimate question. It's a legitimate question. Legitimate question, I mean, it's got to be a little bit of a concern, right, for any big event. So when it comes to safety of the athletes and the fans and everything else, no matter where we go or what we do, we're always concerned with that. And we've been thinking about this for weeks. Dr. Davidson's been involved. Yeah.

I mean, I don't know what else to say other than that. You said on your We're not canceling the event. Well, no, I'm not. I didn't say that. I never said that. On April 1st, Nirmagamatov announced that he will not be fighting at UFC 249 due to travel and training restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UFC announces that Justin Geichi will now be facing Tony Ferguson for the interim championship. No, this is the name of the game. There's a lot. It's a whole lot of nothing. than action and then back to nothing. You know, I fight, it's going to be almost eight, nine months now. So it's very hard to stay focused, but ultimately I know I'm going to have a fight

and I know it's going to be a big fight. So if I'm not ready or if I make the choices to not be ready now, I will never forgive myself. The UFC declines to announce where exactly the matchup will take place, citing media scrutiny. On April 7th, a New York Times article revealed that UFC-249 was set to take place on the Tachi-Yokut tribal lands in Central California. On April 9th, after a call from its broadcast partner's parent company, Disney, the UFC officially cancels the April event in Lamore, California. May 9, 2020, U.S. 249, Ferguson versus Gaichi, Jacksonville, Florida.

Tony Ferguson is set to face Justin Gachy at the Vy Star Veterans Memorial Arena for the interim UFC lightweight championship. On April 24th, the UFC announces the new venue, date, and matchup, as well as two more cards in the same location. All three of these events are going to take place in Jacksonville, Florida, at the Vistar Veterans Memorial Arena. Earlier this week, we reported Florida would be the destination statewide. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer was the first to report.

the venue in Jacksonville. Obviously, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is going to be a closed-door event, there's going to be limited media. These are all things that we expected. It is important to note that the UFC has the support of all the important people here. Florida Governor Rodman Santis,

he has signed off on all three of these events. They're all going to be sanctioned by the Florida State Boxing Commission. The mayor of Jacksonville, Lenny Curry, he is in. Due to public health concerns, no fans will be in attendance for this event. And it will only be available to watch

via pay-per-view. We're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network.