"That's one of the things that Tony Ferguson's so good at" - Dan Hardy explains why he's "concerned" for Nate Diaz's fate against 'El Cucuy'
Nate Diaz was originally scheduled to face fellow welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev at the upcoming UFC 279 fight event on September 10th. However, with 'Borz' missing weight by nearly 7.5 pounds during the official weigh-ins, the fight card had to be completely reshuffled. Tony Ferguson, who was supposed to fight Li Jingliang as the event's co-main event, will now face Nate Diaz in the main event.
Following the announcement of Tony Ferguson replacing Chimaev as the main event fighter, former welterweight contender Dan Hardy took to his YouTube channel to provide a breakdown of the upcoming fight between Diaz and Ferguson.
Hardy spoke of how Ferguson's "razor-sharp elbows" have proven to be quite lethal against his opponents. Thus Tony's style, according to 'The Outlaw,' may be a little concerning for the Stockton native.
Sharing his thoughts on Nate Diaz's fate against 'El Cucuy' in their upcoming bout, the former welterweight championship contender said:
"That's one of the things that Tony Ferguson's so good at. One of the reasons why he has got TKOs on his record are because of his razor-sharp elbows, spinning and cutting people."
Referring to 'El Cucuy's dangerous striking against Josh Thomson at UFC Fight Night event back in 2015, the 40-year old Englishman further added saying:
I mean, you remember what he did to Josh Thomson where he smashed him and... you know, sent him off balance and you know, cut him at the same time... Really lethal dangerous elbows. A lot of spin attacks. A lot of unpredictable stuff from Tony Ferguson. So he presents a lot of issues in the striking range for Nate."
You can check out Dan Hardy sharing his thoughts on Nate Diaz vs. Tony Ferguson below:
Nate Diaz gives his view on upcoming matchup against Tony Ferguson
In a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Diaz discussed his upcoming bout against Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. The Stockton native asserted that the change of opponent was "irritating" for him as he had trained to fight Khamzat Chimaev.
However, Diaz seemed confident that he was ready to take on Ferguson, claiming that he trains to "fight everybody".
Speaking about his latest matchup at UFC 279, the 37-year-old fighter said:
"It's all a mess. It's f**king irritating. I trained for Khamzat. I don't even know how to fight this guy [Ferguson] here. I'm gonna watch some video tonight. But it don't matter anyway because I train for everybody, always, anyway. I don't train for fights anymore. I just train to fight everybody, always; ready for war."
You can check out Diaz's full interview with ESPN MMA below: