Tony Ferguson believes the UFC lightweight champion of the world, Conor McGregor, stands no chance against Floyd Mayweather Jr. inside the ropes.
Ferguson told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s episode of the MMA Hour that Mayweather Jr. is far too much for “The Notorious” while suggesting that the Dubliner is afraid to take him [Ferguson] on in an MMA bout. When asked if Conor McGregor had a chance against Mayweather Jr., Ferguson’s answer was short but to the point:
“No way,” Ferguson said. “Floyd’s just a different animal.”
Ferguson was all set to square off against Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov at UFC 209 a couple of weeks back, but the Russian’s hospitalization for issues related to weight cutting meant that Ferguson missed out on what could have potentially been the biggest fight of his career. Although that fight was for the interim title, “El Cucuy” believes that he is deserving of a title shot, but unfortunately, believes that the holder of the UFC’s lightweight title [McGregor] is afraid to fight him:
“That dude doesn’t want to fight me directly,” he said.
“Conor knows exactly what he’s up against, and he knows I’m a force to be reckoned with. He can’t talk his way through this one. And the same thing with Nate. It’s a different scale with me.”
With both family commitments and a pursuit of a boxing match with Mayweather Jr. stalling the 155-pound division in terms of competition for the belt, Ferguson believes that the Dubliner should vacate or take on his challenge of boxing inside the octagon:
“No, I mean if he’s all about business and being a punk he needs to vacate that belt but, I don’t know,” he said. “If you want to box, let’s go. I’ll box you.
“That dude would get eaten up on his feet.”
There has been no confirmation of what is next for Ferguson, but many will argue that he is in prime position for the next shot at the UFC’s lightweight crown.
