Leading UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson hasn’t ruled out the possibility of cutting an additional 10lb in order to make featherweight and challenge José Aldo.
Ferguson believes his future doesn’t lie in any particular weight class and as he chases pound-for-pound recognition he accepts he’ll need multiple championships in order to truly live up to his full potential.
“The belt is extra cookies on top of the cake but it’s not really something I’m focused on,” Ferguson says. “Once I lose focus that’s when I’m going to go tumbling down the hill. I feel like I’ve gotten to this spot and I deserve whatever I get coming, which is that belt. I’m looking for pound-for-pound list to be the best in the world and it takes belts to get there so let’s get there.”
Ferguson is currently riding an astonishing nine fight win streak and is the running to potentially get the next crack at Conor McGregor’s 155lb title. With McGregor potentially taking time off for maternity leave this opens up the possibility of Ferguson taking on Khabib Nurmagomedov, the other top lightweight contender. Ferguson says it was almost a done deal for Q1 of 2017.
“I’m looking towards the next fight,” Ferguson said. “I worked on healing already. I had something signed up in January already but the opponent needed some more time to heal apparently. I’m ready to go. Less talk, more walk. They wanted something to happen in Anaheim and I was pretty down for it.
“Khabib’s name came up and management talked about it and they came back at me that he needed more time. So whatever. It would have been awesome to fight in my hometown. It would have been bad ass.”
So with McGregor apparently out until next summer at the earliest and Nurmagomedov needing more time who could Ferguson fight next? Well, he says he’s open to dropping to featherweight and fighting he current 145lb champion.
“Maybe Aldo,” Ferguson offers. “Jump down to 145, see what’s up down there. 155’s pretty fun. Maybe bump up to 170. Just thinking about my weight right now, my wife got me this juice cleanse because I was getting kind of heavy. I should step on the scale right now — 185lbs. I can do it. I’m a wrestler. I’ve been doing this a long time. I’m really focused. 145 would be really fun to test myself mentally, too.
“A lot of people, they like to climb these peaks and they like to do all these other things. I like to push my body to just extremity to get past the mental toughness barriers. So fighting at 145, that would be great. If Kenny Florian can do it, I can do it. And of course if he could manage it.”
Ferguson like’s his chances down there as well, he adds: “I think I would pose a big threat at 145.”
