"That's not the reason he's fallen off" - Michael Bisping weighs in on Beneil Dariush saying Tony Ferguson lacks "fundamentals"
During a recent episode of his Believe You Me podcast, Michael Bisping refuted Beneil Dariush's claims that Tony Ferguson lacked basic "fundamentals," giving his opinion on what caused the former interim champion's downfall.
Riding a seven-fight win streak, Dariush suffered an untimely injury that forced him out of a number-one contender matchup for the lightweight title earlier this year. The 33-year-old was scheduled to face the dangerous Islam Makhachev earlier, but after withdrawing from that fight, he now faces a surging Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 280 next month.
Speaking about the lightweight's comments on Ferguson, whom Dariush defeated last May, Michael Bisping gave his honest take on why he believes 'El Cucuy' has struggled to find form inside the octagon.
"So, Dariush says Ferguson was tough, all that good stuff, but he has no fundamentals and that's why he's kind of lacking. I understand Dariush saying that... But I don't think that's the reason why he's kind of fallen off recently. I think the reason he's fallen off is because he doesn't use those fundamentals, he's taken a lot of damage, and he's so tough and he's such a warrior... He's taken a lot of damage over his career and it's just kind of catching up with him a little bit... He deserves everyone's respect."
Michael Bisping claims that fans love Tony Ferguson's style, but insists that regardless of the love he gets for being a warrior, that type of fighting isn't sustainable with a long career at the top of the sport.
Check out what the Brit had to say about Beneil Dariush's comments in the video below:
Can Tony Ferguson get back to his best?
At the age of 38, it looks like Tony Ferguson's best days in the octagon are behind him, but that doesn't mean he can't be one of the best competitors in his division again.
While he's enduring a four-fight losing streak, having not won since his TKO victory over Donald Cerrone in 2019, the unique fighter seemed to have turned a corner before losing last time out.
Ferguson looked good for the majority of the first round against Michael Chandler, but that came to a crashing end when 'Iron' landed a beautifully placed front kick, knocking the veteran out cold.
The fan favorite will move up to welterweight and test himself at 170lbs when he collides with the powerful Li Jingliang in the co-headliner of UFC 279 this weekend.