Tony Ferguson has assured fans around the world that “El Cucuy” is coming back in a more lethal form at UFC 262.
For the first time in his mixed martial arts career, Tony Ferguson is on a losing streak. After losing back-to-back fights to Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira, many have written Ferguson off for dead. El Cucuy is nothing if not resilient, though, and he has recently made changes to his training regime, most notably working with renowned boxing coach Freddie Roach and arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, Georges St-Pierre.
In his next bout, Tony Ferguson will look to get back on track when he takes on fellow veteran Beneil Dariush at UFC 262. The former interim lightweight champion has already personalized his preparation for this fight and, in doing so, has already addressed what he believes to be the main cause for his recent squally weather.
“It’s a great fight,” Ferguson told Submission Radio of his UFC 262 fight against Beneil Dariush. “Let’s talk about Beneil: The guy’s an up-and-comer. Not up-and-comer, an OG dude. He’s been doing the game for a long time. He’s over at Huntington beach with Rafael Cordeiro. He’s a southpaw, he’s very strong on his left side. He’s very game in mixing it up. So, that’s why I’ve been mixing my shit up. Because I got too one-dimensional. When you get too one dimensional, you start to plateau.”
This fresh start has Ferguson feeling a rebirth of sorts. The Californian has always worn his passion on his sleeve, and as he prepares to fend off a third consecutive loss, he appears to be a model of rejuvenation. For the veteran, his professional and spiritual shifts have led him back to where he began his UFC journey.
“And as a master trainer, you should be able to realize that and then understand that, make some changes, and then be able to get your athlete back on the same program, which was, not peaking, but steadily increasing,” Ferguson said. “Paying attention to the smaller details are always going to make for the best things. And Beneil and their team, they got a sh*t load of people over there helping them out. They got like an ‘Ultimate Fighter’ team. It feels like I’m back on the ‘Ultimate Fighter,’ guys. It really does.”
If you are skeptical of whether or not Tony Ferguson still has anything left to give, he is here to answer that for you weeks before he takes to the Octagon for the 19th time to take on the #9-ranked Beneil Dariush.
“I’m hungry as f*ck, and I’m back,” Ferguson assured. “I’m really back on it, man. And I’m mixing it up really, really well, better than a f**king blender.”
After reading these remarks from Tony Ferguson, are you convinced that he is “back” ahead of his UFC 262 bout against Beneil Dariush?
