Tony Ferguson suffered his seventh consecutive defeat in the UFC as he lost to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296. With the seventh loss, he is tied with BJ Penn for the longest losing streak in UFC history and this has made fans and fighters alike call for Ferguson to retire from MMA.
Ferguson’s downhill slide started when he lost the interim lightweight title fight to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249. Since then, he lost to Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush, Michael Chandler, Nate Diaz, and Bobby Green.
Chase Hooper denounces David Goggins’ coaching Tony Ferguson
Tony Ferguson revealed an injury sustained before his UFC 296 fight with Paddy Pimblett, drawing comments from Chase Hooper. Ferguson, who trained with David Goggins before the bout, faced criticism from several in the UFC, including Hooper.
“Damn, who would’ve guessed that doing a hell-week with David Goggins might not have been the best move for Tony at 39 years old? 🤔🤔🤔,” tweeted Hooper on his official account, expressing his skepticism about Ferguson’s decision to train under David Goggins. Hooper’s tweet also raised questions about training regimens for fighters, especially veterans of the sport.
Damn, who would’ve guessed that doing a hell-week with David Goggins might not have been the best move for Tony at 39 years old? 🤔🤔🤔 https://t.co/JawLMACJmF
— Chase Hooper (@chase_hooper) January 26, 2024
Goggins was also in the corner of Ferguson during the bout and it didn’t even make a difference in the fight. During the fight with Pimblett, Ferguson could not get up from the bottom position when the Liverpudlian easily took him down. Nonetheless, the result was different from his previous two fights which ended in a submission finish.
Chase Hooper is one of the youngest fighters in the UFC roster who now competes at lightweight. After trading wins and losses at featherweight, he moved up in weight lightweight where he is undefeated.
Tony Ferguson reveals being injured during Paddy Pimblett bout
Former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson revealed a serious knee injury that he suffered before his fight with Paddy Pimblett. Ferguson disclosed the news on his official Instagram, and it has added a layer of context to his performance against Pimblett.
“2 Weeks Before Thanksgiving I Fcked My Sht Up During A Practice Sesh, MCL Tear. I Kept It To Myself & Put It Behind Me Til After The Fight,” Ferguson captioned his Instagram post thereby revealing the MCL tear he suffered before the fight.
“I Recently Took Care Of My Leg (My MCL) & Had Surgery Last Thursday One Week After My Elbow/Arm Surgery (Both Arthroscopy’s),” Ferguson further revealed that he had surgery for the MCL tear.
Tony Ferguson says he fought Paddy Pimblett with torn MCL at UFC 296, reveals recent surgery https://t.co/8A5aR0OlRK
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 26, 2024
Despite health issues, Ferguson remains determined to continue fighting, a decision UFC CEO Dana White does not endorse. In his prime, Ferguson held a 12-fight win streak at lightweight, a record still tied with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev for the longest in the division.
After the fight with Pimblett, Ferguson had earlier posted training footage which further urged the fans to call for his retirement. Ferguson looked very old and slow in the training footage and it was the reason why fans called for it.
Do you think Tony Ferguson should retire? Leave your thoughts below!
