After Seven Years At the Top, Tony Ferguson Removed From UFC Lightweight Rankings

The UFC Lightweight Rankings this year are already vastly different from the seven years prior to the MMA star. Tony Ferguson This is no longer a serious contender.

For For the first time since 2015 Tony Ferguson is no longer featured in the UFC’s top 15 at 155 lbs. Veteran Drew Dober Replace Ferguson After winning a second round knockout Bobby Green in the UFC’s final card of the year.

Ferguson’s departure from the upper echelon is a reminder of how cruel MMA can be. Fighters You can quickly and violently fall from the top to the bottom of the world. RecentlyIt happened. Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, Tyron Woodley. Ferguson This is the latest addition.

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‘El Cucuy’ With a submission win, vaulted into the top 15 lightweights Gleison Tibau In February 2015 That It was the 5th in a 12-fight winning streak that left everyone Ferguson Bloodied and bruised opponent beyond recognition He violently dominated the UFC’s marquee division for the better part of a decade. Despite This, and a shot at the undisputed lightweight title, eluded him. Matchups with Conor McGregor Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The UFC matches up Ferguson And Khabib The fight was lost five times. Two The undisputed lightweight title was the subject of most of those scheduled fights: in 2018 & 2020. After Ferguson It was defeated Kevin Lee The showdown against the undefeated is the highlight of the interim belt Nurmagomedov Set for April 2018 ButThe fight fell apart during fight week. Ferguson After a TV interview, he tripped on a wire and tore his ACL.

Stoppage Victories over Anthony Pettis And Donald Cerrone Set Ferguson Up for another undisputed title shot. He The challenge was on Khabib UFC 249 April 2020. UnfortunatelyEveryone knows what the next step will be. Covid The UFC had to postpone the event due to lockdowns. Ferguson His undisputed title shot was never awarded to him.

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When In 2008, the UFC resumed. May 2020 Ferguson stepped in to take on an interim title fight against Justin Gaethje. Gaethje battered Ferguson Before moving from pillar-to-post, he was finally finished by TKO round five. So All rights reserved Ferguson’s decline. He They lost lopsided decisions. Charles Oliveira And Beneil DariushYou will then be brutally knocked out at the feet (or hands) of Michael Chandler. Most recently, Ferguson By submitting to Nate Diaz in a short notice welterweight bout.

Despite The rough patch Ferguson He insists that he will continue to fight. After The Diaz In a conversation with ESPN, he admitted to his loss and suggested that he retire.

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“When I feel like I’m ready to retire, I will retire. But right now, it’s a little bit different, a little more interesting,” Ferguson said. “With that being said, ‘DC’ and all these commentators that just keep repeating the same s**t over the years – because that’s what they want me to do. They want the public eye to see me like that and they want to see me as a quitter and so on and so forth.”

If Ferguson will keep fighting, hopefully against other veterans. “fun fights.” His The days of title contention are gone, and no one wants him to be in unfavorable matches with young contenders who are on their way up. The The lightweight division is full o’ killers and unfortunately Ferguson It will be difficult to compete with them.

What What do you think? Tony Ferguson Should you?

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