UFC: Tony Ferguson threatens move up to welterweight – ‘I hear Nick Diaz needs competition’
- ‘Keep me busy, I like to fight – if I don’t, I gotta bump up to 170 [pounds],’ Ferguson says after claiming UFC lowballed him in Dustin Poirier talks
- ‘Michael Chandler should get an intro fight to somebody else than just me, you can’t call me a gatekeeper’
After seeing a potential UFC 254 showdown with fellow former interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier fall apart, Tony Ferguson has threatened to move up a division to 170 pounds.
“El Cucuy” (26-4) has not fought since a fifth-round TKO by Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 in May. Gaethje will fight 150-pound champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in the Fight Island main event on October 25.
But Ferguson is growing frustrated with the organisation after claiming they lowballed him for the fight with Poirier (26-6), and that they then offered him a fight with former Bellator champ and UFC newcomer Michael Chandler.
“Keep me busy, let’s go man, I like to fight,” the 36-year-old told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. “If I don’t, I gotta bump up to 170. I hear Nick Diaz is looking for competition. Battle for California, no disrespect.
“I’m a 170 pounder. The UFC told me you’re kinda small. I have a big frame, all I was eating was once a day because I was barely making ends meet. I got the frame for like a 200-205 pounder. There’s a lot of discipline I’ve been adding into this stuff.
“No matter who they throw onto our plate, I’m ready for five rounds. I hear they’re needing a main event, one in November, one in December. My agent said we’re fine to fight, but we wanna discuss pay. I always told the UFC I was in, I’m good with the fights, so let’s make it happen. Let’s get this right.”