"He's not a strong guy" - Former UFC lightweight spells disaster for "banged up" Tony Ferguson against Paddy Pimblett
UFC veteran Tony Ferguson will take on lightweight sensation Paddy Pimblett in the last pay-per-view of the year at UFC 296 on December 16.
The former interim champion is on an abysmal six-fight losing streak and faces an uphill task against a younger fighter on the rise. Former UFC lightweight Josh Thomson expounded on the concerns about Ferguson's waning physicality and strength on the WEIGHING IN podcast:
“Look, Tony is not - and we all know - he’s not what he was. What concerns me though is that the physical strength at the age that Tony’s at and the damage that he’s taken, it’s the physical strength, can he take the shots that Paddy will give him on the feet? But Paddy’s got the physical strength to really, really drive it home. I think the grappling goes towards Tony but Tony’s physical strength, he’s not a strong guy."
Furthermore, Thomson mentioned that Tony Ferguson relied on his flexibility and unconventional grappling to outsmart opponents on the canvas but may not be the same fighter anymore:
"He was able to maneuver himself out of positions with some of his flexibility, his awkward style of grappling. Just the flexibility, the goofiness of how he trains, that whole Eddie Bravo style. But he can’t do it anymore. You see him doing the knee slides, the takedown knee slides, go back and watch his last two fights, he doesn’t even go all the way to his knees anymore. So, his body is banged up and he can’t do - whether he thinks mentally he can do it - physically he can’t do it. He’s damaged his body too much.”
Check out Thomson's comments below (58:57):
Michael Bisping warns Paddy Pimblett of lose-lose situation against "dangerous" Tony Ferguson
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping believes Tony Ferguson is still a dangerous opponent for Paddy Pimblett due to his vast experience.
Bisping argued that 'The Baddy' finds himself in a difficult situation where a victory or a loss would not really help him greatly. 'The Count' pointed out that even winning against an out-of-form Tony Ferguson would not win Pimblett any plaudits:
"At 39 years old, yeah, of course he’s taken a lot of damage. But he also has a lot of experience. And against Bobby Green, he was doing okay... Ferguson is still a dangerous man, make no mistake about that. And it’s a really, really tough spot for Paddy Pimblett. It’s a lose-lose. Already there’s people out there talking sh*t, saying, ‘They’ve just given Paddy somebody easy.’"
Check out Bisping's comments below (4:14):