UFC lightweight Tony Ferguson is angling for a fight against Nate Diaz.
Tony Ferguson is on a nine-fight win streak and wants to keep the momentum going in 2017.
'El Cucuy' wanted to prove his worth as the number one lightweight contender in the world at UFC 209 but, his opponent, the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov, was forced to pull out at the last minute due to a brutal weight cut which left him hospitalized.
'The Eagle' is expected to be out of action for the foreseeable future and current 155-pound champion, Conor McGregor, is busy pursuing a boxing megafight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. This leaves Ferguson, 33, without an opponent, but the No. 2 ranked contender wants to fight another man who is stuck on the sidelines: Nate Diaz.
Diaz, a fan favorite, is the only fighter under the UFC banner to beat McGregor, choking the Irishman out at UFC 196 but losing via majority decision in the blockbuster rematch at UFC 202.
The Stockton local is currently ranked as the No. 8 lightweight in the world, but his win over 'The Notorious' transcends the rankings.
Ferguson told Diaz to stop waiting for McGregor to return and advised him to move on.
“He’s all on McGregor’s [expletive],” Ferguson told Brett Okamoto on the 5ive Rounds podcast (h/t Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting). “He’s like a f—king bad ex-girlfriend. Literally, a bad taste in somebody’s mouth if you win or you lose, you’ve gotta move on, dude. If you really want that money fight then you’re probably hurting for money. Literally, if you have that money fight, you should pay your taxes and then move on. This is a fighter sport. You’re ranked number what, eight? Ninth? Don’t you want to be better than that? S—t, dude you beat is ranked higher than you. Don’t you want an opportunity at the belt? Come on. I’m skipping a couple names but I’m giving you an opportunity. I’m doing you a favor, I’m not doing myself a f—king favor. I’m giving you a chance but if you don’t want it, that’s cool. I’ll give somebody else a chance.”
Ferguson, the welterweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 13, proceeded to mock Diaz with his older brother's tagline: Don't be scared homie.
“Nate, you’re not the last option. If you don’t want to fight, go hide in a hole. But you’ve got to admit on Twitter that you don’t want to fight me. You’re f—king scared homie. All that s—t’s gotta go out the f—king window. ‘Don’t be scared homie.’ People are gonna start throwing that s—t away and it’s gonna be crazy.
“You can wait for McNuggets but we all know if you wait for that fool, if he fights Mayweather and he doesn’t fight again, you might not get another chance for a big money fight besides this guy. So I’m giving you a shot. If you want it, it’s perfect. If you like it, sign on the dotted line.”
Ferguson has the highest win streak in UFC lightweight history and holds wins over the likes of Rafael dos Anjos, Edson Barboza, and Josh Thomson. A headlining bout against Diaz is a bonafide pay-per-view seller and a win would cement Ferguson as the true No. 1 contender.