"Thank God" - Fans breathe a sigh of relief after UFC lightweight confirms he is not fighting Tony Ferguson next

A UFC lightweight contender affirmed that he won't be stepping into the octagon to face Tony Ferguson in his upcoming fight.

Matt Frevola recently stirred up anticipation in the MMA community when he teased his fans on X about signing a contract for his next fight. Accompanied by an animated GIF, Frevola expressed his palpable excitement for what seemingly lies ahead in the octagon.

Prompted by the curiosity of MMA enthusiasts regarding hints about his potential opponent, 'The Streamrolla' responded:

"Sometimes you gotta make your Idols your rivals ✊🏻 ⚔️ 🔥"

Adding clarity to the speculation, he stated that 'El Cucuy' is not in the cards for his next bout:

"It's not Tony lol."

Check out Matt Frevola's posts below:

Fans reacted to Frevola's confirmation with a myriad of reactions.

One fan wrote:

"Thank God 😂😂"

Another wrote:

"Damn, near gave me a heart attack."

Check out some more reactions below:

"I get more and more worried about Tony Ferguson these days, will always be a huge fan of his. I'm glad you confirmed you're not fighting him. Now, if it were PRIME Tony Ferguson!?!?! OH GOD YEAH YOU 2 WOULD TRY TO DESTORY ONE ANOTHER!!!"

Credits: @SteamRollaa on X

Once celebrated as the dominant force in the 155-pound division, 'El Cucuy' enjoyed a 12-fight win streak, securing the interim championship along the way.

However, Ferguson's fortunes took a turn when he suffered a defeat against Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 in May 2020, abruptly ending his undefeated streak. Currently, he finds himself tied with the promotion's record for the longest losing streak, having suffered seven consecutive losses.

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Tony Ferguson squashes retirement talk

Following his unanimous decision loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296 in December, Tony Ferguson faced pressure from a segment of the MMA community, including UFC CEO Dana White, to contemplate retirement from the sport.

During his recent appearance on JAXXON PODCAST, 'El Cucuy' brushed off discussions of retirement and pledged to continue fighting until he's physically unable to do so:

"I’m already a f**king Hall of Famer, man. They already f**king know it. I’m not retiring. Any time I get hurt, I come back with a f**king vengeance because, like I said, you get that slap in the face in order to do it because the only person that’s gonna do it for us is ourselves. Nobody’s gonna tell us what the f**k to do."

He added:

"I’m going to fight until the wheels fall off. F**k retiring, dude. If you’re a competitor for the longest time — I’m a three-sport athlete."

Check out Tony Ferguson's comments below (1:01:34):