Tony Ferguson vs Beneil Dariush announced for UFC 262
The UFC have announced that lightweight Tony Ferguson will fight Beneil Dariush at UFC 262.
'El Cucuy' was once considered to be the best 155-pounder on the face of the planet. He was able to string together a remarkable run of form in the division, which resulted in him winning the UFC interim lightweight title.
However, in 2020, everything seemed to gradually fall apart for Tony Ferguson as he lost consecutive fights for the first time in his MMA career.
Tony Ferguson was beaten by Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 and he then lost to Charles Oliveira last December at UFC 256. El Cucuy now has a chance to vault himself right up the rankings if he can get back in the win column against Dariush.
Dariush is on a nice run with six straight wins to his name. While he’s been through his own share of ups and downs, a win over Tony Ferguson would easily be the biggest victory of Dariush's career to date.
The two will meet on a card which will have a huge impact on the lightweight division. The main event in Houston will see Michael Chandler meet Charles Oliveira for the UFC lightweight title. Tony Ferguson almost certainly won't earn a title shot with a win at UFC 262, but he will be much closer to the top of the division.
The UFC has already enjoyed a good start to 2021 with many exciting cards to and UFC 262 is shaping up to be more of the same. Tony Ferguson and Beneil Dariush are not known for putting on boring fights and are two fighters who are guaranteed to give it their all.
Some in the MMA community suggested Tony Ferguson should retire following his back-to-back losses last year and believe he is on a decline similar to Tyron Woodley at welterweight. However, this is a fairly dramatic assessment of things.
In reality, it will all come down to his performance against Dariush. If El Cucuy is completely blown out of the water at UFC 262, he might have to reconsider his future in the sport. However, Ferguson has always made his doubters look foolish when they have counted him out in the past.