It’s been quite a tumble for former UFC interim champion Tony Ferguson.
Ferguson only is three years removed from the days when he was riding high on a 12-fight lightweight winning streak. Included on his resume in that run was an interim 155-pound title win against Kevin Lee, as well as wins over former champions Rafael dos Anjos and Anthony Pettis. He also had an absurd nine post-fight bonus awards over that 12-fight stretch.
To say Ferguson was one of the best in the world would be understating it.
In May 2020, he fought Justin Gaethje for another interim belt and was knocked out in the fifth round. Things haven’t gotten much better.
Ferguson dropped decisions to future champ Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush after his Gaethje loss, which was the first time he had been knocked out in his career. After a year off, Michael Chandler finished him with a Knockout of the Year contender head kick at UFC 274 in May.
Then this past Saturday, Nate Diaz submitted him in the fourth round of their UFC 279 main event for Ferguson’s fifth straight loss. But the fight was at welterweight after years at lightweight, and Ferguson experimented with some camp changes, too.
Did he look improved enough at 170 pounds, despite the loss? Should he stay there? Should he go back to lightweight? Should he hang up the gloves? There are all kinds of possibilities for “El Cucuy,” and we asked the opinions of our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Danny Segura, who discussed the topic with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their conversation in the video above, or check out this week’s full episode below.