Tony Ferguson earned the interim UFC lightweight title with a big win over Kevin Lee. “El Cucuy” was then set to battle it out with Khabib Nurmagomedov for the vacant, undisputed title back at UFC 223.
However, Ferguson suffered a devastating knee injury that forced the fighter out of the bout. Consequently, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) stripped Ferguson of his interim title. Ferguson then began what would become a five month journey to recovery from his damaged knee.
Speaking in a recent media scrum, Tony Ferguson revealed his thoughts on the past five months and the UFC’s stripping of his title.
“I’m just here because I have to be here. [The UFC] took my belt. They took a bunch of zeros from my paycheck. How do you think I f—ing feel? It’s all fun and games, right?
“People want to call me weird, ‘cringey.’ People want to use my s— and not give me credit. F— you guys. Straight out.”
“It took one physical therapist, one person I had to meet after my surgery, to give me a condescending handshake,” said Ferguson, on his quick recovery. “I said, ‘F— that dude.’ They told me six months to a year. I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to do it in four.’
“I work hard for my stuff. And even when I work hard for my stuff, it gets taken away — which is cool. It’s alright. You can’t take my smile. And you won’t.”
Tony Ferguson will now fight Anthony Pettis in the co-main event of UFC 229 on Oct. 6, live on pay-per-view.
