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Since he arrived in the UFC by winning the 13th season of The Ultimate Fighter back in 2011, Tony Ferguson has been all business. ‘El Cucuy’ has cut a path of destruction through the Lightweight division, and his UFC record currently sits at an impressive 13-1, including a current 10-fight win streak.
Ferguson was last seen in action last October – he defeated Kevin Lee for the Interim UFC Lightweight title, but an injury prevented him for fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov for the full title at UFC 223 and he’s since been stripped of the interim belt. UFC 229 sees him back in action against former champ Anthony Pettis, though, and a win should see him in line to fight the Nurmagomedov/McGregor winner.
With ‘El Cucuy’s return almost upon us, here’s a look at his 5 best UFC fights to date.
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#1 vs. Ramsey Nijem – UFC: Ultimate Fighter XIII Finale – 04/06/2011
Given the events of the season went down some seven years ago, it’s easy to forget that Ferguson came into the UFC as a very unpopular man.
Entering into TUF 13 as a Welterweight, Ferguson ran through three opponents on the show to make the finals – but also got into a very personal argument with fellow Team Lesnar fighter Charlie Rader, to the point where the whole cast turned against him.
Essentially, everyone from the show – as well as all of the fans watching – were pulling for Ramsey Nijem – who’d also finished three fighters on the show – to defeat ‘El Cucuy’. For fans less invested in the TUF drama though, this was a tremendous-sounding final match between two young, undefeated and massively talented prospects.
In the end, the fight was stunningly one-sided. Ramsey came out aggressively with his striking, but couldn’t catch the more seasoned Ferguson, and where ‘Stripper Ramsey’ had been able to outgrapple all of his opponents during TUF, he was unable to get Ferguson to the ground.
Eventually, as the first round was about to enter its final minute, ‘El Cucuy’ caught Ramsey with a vicious left hand that turned out his lights instantly, making Ferguson the latest Ultimate Fighter champion.
It was a flash of Ferguson’s massive potential – and more affirmation that he’d be a ruthless finisher in the UFC proper as well as on TUF. In other words, it was a tremendously eye-opening debut.
#2 vs. Josh Thomson – UFC Fight Night 71 – 07/15/2015
Following his victory over Nijem, Ferguson dropped to 155lbs and immediately won two fights before suffering a broken arm in a loss to Michael Johnson.
He returned in 2013 and after five victories – the last over ultra-tough gatekeeper Gleison Tibau – it was clear that he needed a step up in competition. At UFC Fight Night 71, he was faced with that step up.
Josh Thomson had come back into the UFC following a tremendous run in StrikeForce that saw him hold the Lightweight title there for a time, and he’d beaten Nate Diaz upon his return before controversial decision losses to Benson Henderson and Bobby Green knocked him from title contention. But if he could beat Ferguson, he’d be right back in the mix.
It was a close fight to call on paper but in the end, Ferguson turned it into a beatdown nothing like Thomson had ever suffered previously.
The fight started relatively slowly, with Ferguson edging the first round based on landing the better strikes – his movement, length and reach were clearly bothering Thomson.
It was during the second round that ‘El Cucuy’ landed the killer blow. He nailed Thomson with a step-in right elbow that sent him crashing down, and was unlucky not to finish him off with some follow-up elbows on the ground.
But realistically from that point, Thomson was out of the fight. He was lucky not to be finished by a triangle choke, and then a kimura in the same round, and was practically carried back to his corner.
By the third round, Ferguson was completely confident and simply took the fight to Thomson, outstriking him comfortably for the full stanza, including dropping him to his knees with a nasty knee to the body.
Thomson simply couldn’t get a handle on Ferguson’s erratic movement, not even for a second.
In the end ‘El Cucuy’ won out by decision – and handed Thomson the worst loss of his career to that point. It was a signal that Ferguson was ready to break into the title picture.
#3 vs. Edson Barboza – UFC: Ultimate Fighter XXII Finale – 12/11/2015
Following the Thomson win, Ferguson was matched with the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov at December’s TUF 22 Finale, with the winner potentially looking at a title shot in early 2016.
But not for the first time, a possible Ferguson/Nurmagomedov clash was canceled due to an injury, this time to the Dagestani. In his place, Ferguson was faced with Brazilian striker Edson Barboza, the man with the nastiest leg kicks in the UFC.
What ensued was one of the best fights of 2015. Both men came out with serious aggression, looking to take the fight to one another, and Ferguson even attempted a rolling leglock in the opening minute or so.
That led to an illegal kick to the face, though, and Ferguson was deducted a point by referee Big John McCarthy. Barboza went on to land the superior strikes in the round, which meant Ferguson came away on the wrong end of a 10-8.
Evidently, he realised he’d probably need to finish Barboza to win, and so in the second round, somehow ‘El Cucuy’ turned up the heat even more.
Despite being cut by an elbow from the Brazilian, Ferguson just kept on wading forward, throwing elbows and punches in combinations, and pretty soon Barboza was bleeding badly too. With both men now winging huge shots, something had to give.
Barboza attempted his trademark wheel kick only for Ferguson to dodge, and seconds later he caught the Brazilian with a flashy strike of his own – a spinning back elbow.
That stunned Barboza into going for a takedown – and Ferguson defended it and in one deft movement, snapped ‘Junior’ down into a D’Arce choke to force a tapout.
Not only was this a fantastic fight from both men, but it was definitely Ferguson’s gutsiest performance to that point.
Barboza had pushed him harder than anyone had done before; even cut him open badly, but in the end even the Brazilian wilted under the relentless pressure of ‘El Cucuy’.
#4: vs. Rafael Dos Anjos – UFC Fight Night 98 – 11/05/2016
After the prospective Nurmagomedov fight fell through again in early 2016, Ferguson was matched with Michael Chiesa in the summer, but was forced instead to deal with late replacement Lando Vannata in an exciting fight. With that done, the Chiesa fight disappeared from view, and was replaced by something much bigger – a match with former UFC Lightweight champ Rafael Dos Anjos.
Dos Anjos had lost his title earlier in the year to Eddie Alvarez in somewhat of an upset, and so a fight with Ferguson promised a potential ticket directly back to a title shot. But of course, ‘El Cucuy’ had other ideas, and the prospect of fighting his toughest opponent to date didn’t seem to faze him at all.
Nor did the fact that the fight was to take place in Mexico City – notorious for its cardio-sapping high altitude. Indeed, it was Ferguson’s incredible stamina that allowed him to win the fight. ‘RDA’ actually came out stronger to begin with, landing the better strikes throughout the exchanges in the first round. But that was all the success that the Brazilian would see in the fight.
Ferguson settled into a rhythm during the second round and didn’t really let up from there, pushing a hellacious pace that RDA tried – and failed – to keep up with.
Combination after combination landed for ‘El Cucuy’ with Dos Anjos simply unable to handle his movement, speed and use of angles, and unable to take him down, either.
Although he couldn’t put the former champion away, by the time the five rounds were up, it was clear that Dos Anjos was both exhausted and beaten. Not only had Ferguson defeated the Brazilian, but it was arguably his career-best performance, too.
#5 vs. Kevin Lee – UFC 216 – 10/07/2017
Almost a full year passed following Ferguson’s win over Dos Anjos – unsurprisingly, the UFC’s attempt to make the Nurmagomedov fight failed again in March, as Khabib failed to make weight and had to withdraw.
It was clear that Ferguson deserved a title shot though, and so with Khabib on the shelf and champion Conor McGregor off fighting Floyd Mayweather, the UFC matched ‘El Cucuy’ with fast-rising contender Kevin Lee to crown an Interim champion instead.
The fight took place at UFC 216, and amazingly, it almost turned into a nightmare scenario for Ferguson.
Despite Lee almost missing weight and looking downright unhealthy coming into the Octagon, he actually started the fight as the stronger man.
After some striking exchanges saw both men land with heavy shots and both men look stunned, Lee managed to take top position after a scramble.
From there, ‘The Motown Phenom’ managed to take full mount, where he destroyed Ferguson with a series of elbows and punches. It looked like the fight was over, but somehow Ferguson held on and was essentially saved by the buzzer.
But that was seemingly all Lee had in his tank. By the time the second round began, Ferguson somehow looked fully recovered while it was Lee who was sucking in wind.
‘El Cucuy’ took over the fight with his striking game in that round, and going into the third it seemed like only one man was destined to pick up the victory.
Sure enough, despite Lee securing a takedown early on, he never looked comfortable from the top, and Ferguson – for probably the first time since a controversial 2014 win over Danny Castillo – showed how tricky he could be from the bottom position, as he caught Lee in a triangle choke and forced him to submit.
With the win, Ferguson had finally captured UFC gold in one of his toughest challenges to date – one of the only fights in the UFC where he’d really come close to actually losing. He hasn’t fought since – but with a win over Pettis at UFC 229, he should be in for another shot at UFC glory soon.
