As the dust begins to settle from UFC 296, there are many takeaways from the final UFC pay-per-view of the year, but none more obvious than questions of what is next for Tony Ferguson.
Watching his fight with Paddy Pimblett, you could see that there is fight still left in the eyes of Tony, he just couldn’t figure it out. But with another loss, the masses have formed fans and haters together and concluded that Tony Ferguson needs to retire. It is easy to argue that with his current record of seven losses in a row retirement is not out of the question, but the mentality of a fighter is unbreakable and they end it on their terms.
It is easy to say give it up, you are done – but this has become these fighters’ identity and it would be hard to accept the take away of the ‘El Cucuy’ moniker you rightfully earned within the battle over violence and chaos.
The Options for Who Is Next for Tony Ferguson
Now don’t get us wrong, it is easy to say retirement is next that it would be the best to preserve what was a memorable career. Retirement is 100% an option but it is so hard to tell a veteran of the sport that they are done. But if it was up to the fans and if we took a poll today it could be nearly unanimous to retire.
A wild fight that many might call crazy or will disregard would be Conor McGregor. That’s right, this is an option for Tony Ferguson. It may not be a beautiful ride off into the sunset as a world champion scenario, but the payday could be enough to retire comfortably.
Any fight with Conor is instant gold, but why Tony? Well, they have had many years of back-and-forth moments on social media – in fact, it is Tony who gave the McNuggets nickname to Conor
It is a risky fight for McGregor, that is for sure, and who knows if he would even sign a contract against Tony Ferguson who is on a losing streak and would only benefit him with bragging rights. Who knows if the McGregor brand would be affected by a loss to Tony, but it wouldn’t help to get back into title picture with a loss to a man who many feel should retire.
Could a Pivot Rejuvenate Tony Ferguson?
Or, does he pivot his career and try a new market? Many exciting promotions like The BKFC or even Karate Combat could showcase the skills that Tony has. If retirement is the option, Tony’s silver tongue could place him anywhere in a play-by-play booth providing entertaining commentary.
The options are slim at the moment for Ferguson. It is easy to speculate a retirement announcement could be coming soon but Ferguson has always been unpredictable, so with his social media message stating he is going to keep going, who knows what’s next? Only Tony and the UFC do.
What are your thoughts on what should be next for Tony Ferguson?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
