"I don’t give a f*ck what Dana White says" - Tony Ferguson calls out Jake Paul for potential boxing showdown
It appears Tony Ferguson wants to try his hand at boxing and recently expressed his eagerness to fight Jake Paul in the squared circle.
'El Cucuy' is undeniably among the most well-known fighters in mixed martial arts and is known for his incredible 12-fight win streak between 2013 and 2019. During this run of form, Ferguson won the 155-pound interim belt and defeated several high-profile fighters like Rafael dos Anjos, Anthony Pettis, and Donald Cerrone. His run came to a screeching halt against Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 in May 2020.
Ferguson lost the Gaethje fight after getting knocked out in the fifth round. 'El Cucuy' never recovered from the brutal loss, followed by six straight defeats. After Paddy Pimblett outpointed Ferguson at UFC 296 last December, the former interim champion tied with BJ Penn for the most consecutive losses in UFC history.
Nevertheless, it appears the 40-year-old is far from done with combat sports. During a recent appearance on the JAXXON Podcast, Ferguson stated that he'd like to fight 'The Problem Child'. He didn't care about Dana White's reservations about UFC fighters competing outside the promotion.
"I'm going to be real with you, I'm calling out Jake. I'd love to fight you, dude. I don't talk to too many people or call them out, but Jake is the one... I don't give a f**k what Dana says. He knows already he don't owe me sh*t and I don't owe him nothing. I've done enough for this f**king company."
Tony Ferguson confirms having no intention of retiring anytime soon
On the same podcast, Tony Ferguson confirmed that he isn't planning on hanging up his gloves and isn't going to retire from combat sports anytime soon. The last time he tasted victory was against Donald Cerrone at UFC 238 in June 2019.
As mentioned above, Ferguson is on a seven-fight losing slide and looked a shadow of his former self in his last bout against Paddy Pimblett. Unsurprisingly, the MMA community has been pushing for the 40-year-old to call it a career on social media.
Nevertheless, Ferguson isn't leaving the sport and told the JAXXON Podcast that he's planning to fight till the very end:
"I’m going to fight until the wheels fall off. F*** retiring, dude. If you’re a competitor for the longest time, I’m a three-sport athlete. I wanted to go back and play pro ball. I wanted to go and do another f***ing thing. I wanted to do all this s**t because I’m that guy."