"I'm not gonna give you any time to breathe" - Tony Ferguson warns opponent Michael Chiesa ahead of UFC on ABC 7
Tony Ferguson has not entered the octagon since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296 last December. The former interim lightweight champion is set to return this weekend when he faces Michael Chiesa at UFC on ABC 7. 'El Cucuy' shared a warning to his opponent ahead of their upcoming clash.
Speaking to Hosheh MMA, Ferguson stated:
"F**k that, this is mixed martial arts. I'm not here for ADCC. I'm here to go in there. I'm going to out work you. I'm going to punch you. You're going to shoot in. I'm going to choke you out. With Paddy, I shouldn't have let him up. I had too many people telling me the wrong s**t when I know d**n well exactly that I have the compass to get to where I need to go."
Ferguson continued:
"I have nothing against you, Michael Chiesa, but I'm going to bring the fight to you. I'm not going to give you any time to breathe and I hope your conditioning is really good. I know you got a fancy new camp where you're getting your strength and conditioning, but I've been all the way around in this s**t. I'm a national champ from Grand Valley State University so if you want to wrestle, I'm right here, baby."
Check out Tony Ferguson's message for Michael Chiesa below:
Ferguson will look to snap a seven-fight losing streak - which is tied with B.J. Penn for the longest in UFC history - and get back in the win column for the first time since defeating Donald Cerrone via second-round TKO at UFC 238 in 2019. He had been on a 12-fight winning streak before his ongoing slide.
Tony Ferguson reveals that he returned to sparring
Tony Ferguson desperately needs a win when he faces Michael Chiesa in UFC on ABC 7 this weekend. He recently shared that he returned to sparring for the first time in seven years. Speaking at the event's media day, the former interim lightweight champion stated:
"I had two surgeries. I think that was the kick to the f**king s**k that was I needed to be able to get my s**t together because I went back to sparring. I hadn't sparred in seven years. I've had good training partners and I've put in about 120 rounds or more of sparring. I've put a lot of wrestling in. Good training partners, good vibes on a good team, the Beehive back home in Orange County."
Check out Tony Ferguson's comments on returning to sparring below:
Ferguson will need to dig deep if he looks to prolong his UFC career. 'El Cucuy' will return to welterweight for just the second time since defeating Ramsey Nijem via first-round knockout in his promotional debut at 'The Ultimate Fighter 13' Finale back in 2011.