"When you're the smartest man in the room, you fire everybody" - Tony Ferguson reveals changes he made in training camp heading into UFC 262
Tony Ferguson faces Beneil Dariush in the co-main event of UFC 262. A lot is at stake for 'El Cucuy', who is coming off back-to-back losses. After amassing a 12-fight winning streak, Ferguson lost the interim title fight to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249. He then lost to Charles Oliveira at UFC 256.
In an interview with ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto, Tony Ferguson was asked why he felt he had lost the ability to be coachable. Ferguson retorted, saying:
"Never lost the ability to be coachable. What happened was, when you're the smartest man in the room, you have to basically fire everybody. What happened was nobody was testing me, nobody was helping me grow anymore."
"So, I basically had to get rid of everybody that were toxic to me. Put everything in my life that was really good and helps me grow and [helps] my family [grow]. Because obviously, things weren't there. I saw my career going towards a certain thing, because obviously, nobody was pushing me, nobody was encouraging me."
'El Cucuy' went on to state that despite amassing a 12-fight winning streak, he was never given a shot at the undisputed lightweight title. Yet he continues to show up and give his best.
Understandably, Tony Ferguson doesn't feel too good about Michael Chandler getting a title shot after one fight in the UFC.
What changes has Tony Ferguson made?
In the interview, Ferguson stated that he went back to his coaches from TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) to get their advice and hear what they had to say. Recently, 'El Cucuy' also announced that he had begun training with veteran boxing coach Freddie Roach to work on striking and defense. This was welcomed by fans of the UFC lightweight after seeing the amount of damage he took against Justin Gaethje at UFC 249.
Ferguson seems to have recognized what snapped his momentum and is eager to get back in the "win" column.
Tony Ferguson evidently also spent some time training with both Freddie Roach and former two-division UFC champion Georges St-Pierre at Roach's gym Wild Card Boxing.