Tony Ferguson’s unanimous decision loss to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296 this past weekend means he now jointly holds the record with BJ Penn for the most consecutive losses in UFC history, with the two lightweight stars both having gone 7 fights without getting their hand raised.
However, the 39-year-old Ferguson remains as defiant as ever when it comes to talk of retiring and insists that he will still continue to fight on.
“Love My Fans & Supporters, You All Are F*ckin’ Fire ,” Ferguson wrote on X. “Met Lots Of You Saturday/ This Weekend / This Week Keep The FaithMF’s. One Foot In Front Of TheOther Bitches. Remember What I Said Crew✍️” – Champ -CSO- # ThereIsNoSuccessWithoutStruggle # Not ♂️RetiringCasuals # EatAFatOneYa’BunchOfEunics ✂️.”
Whether Dana White will continue to allow him to compete in the UFC remains to be seen, but the UFC CEO did indicate after Saturday night’s show that he’d like to see him hang up his gloves for good.
“I would love to see Tony retire,” White told reporters after UFC 296.
“When you talk about a skid, you look at the guys he fought, too,” White continued. “That plays a factor into it and how did he look right up until he lost? Tony tonight looked like he should retire.”
To be fair, Ferguson certainly has faced a very challenging line-up of lightweight talent during his losing streak, being defeated by Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush, Michael Chandler, Nate Diaz and Bobby Green prior to his 7th loss against Pimblett.
Still, it’s clear that the prime version of Ferguson that went on a 12-fight winning streak between 2013 and 2019 is long gone and White appears to be convinced that he should call it quits.
“Listen, Tony’s been an absolute warrior and a dog in this sport. I don’t want to disrespect him by publicly talking about him retiring but I would love to see him retire. That’s really where my head’s at.”
