On November 12, the UFC will make its long-awaited debut in New York City with UFC 205. Atop this historic card sits a lightweight title fight between reigning lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, and reigning featherweight king Conor McGregor. This veritable super fight has 99% of the fight game drooling in anticipation.
Streaking lightweight contender Tony Ferguson falls into the 1% of the fight game that is not particularly thrilled with this matchup. McGregor’s getting the title shot, after all, meant that he and several other hard-working lightweight contenders were passed over.
In his frustration, Ferguson recently told Australia’s Submission Radio that he’s hoping that Alvarez and McGregor achieve a rare, double-knockout in NYC, planting fight-ending punches on each other’s chins and hitting the canvas simultaneously.
“Honestly I hope they both knock each other out,” Ferguson said on the show. “We’ve not seen a double KO in a while, but seriously I hope it’s a good fight. There’s a lot of shit talking and a lot of hype and stuff and I just hope it’s more than one round. I hope they give everyone what they want to see which is a good bloody war.”
No matter the outcome of Alvarez and McGregor’s looming title fight, however, Ferguson is hoping he’ll get a shot at the winner. Of course, he knows that will depend on how he performs against former champion Rafael Dos Anjos on November 5.
“It depends on how I finish,” Ferguson said. “If I finish like [I did against Edson] Barboza, yes. If I finish like [I did against Lando] Venatta, no. It’s all about being spectacular inside that Octagon and being entertaining. I aim to please when I go inside there and the only one I aim to please is myself. I know I’ve got to come out there with a flawless victory this time and getting a win over RDA like that will put me in title contention. No doubt in my mind.”
“I’m sharpening up my elbows, my kicks are smooth–I’m kicking hard bro. I’m hitting sandbags like you wouldn’t believe. I’m doing straight up just ironman training out here. There’s nobody that’s going to beat me, man. They can say whatever they want but I’m on a different pathway and that’s finishing people – RDA’s next.”
Do you think Ferguson will deserve a title shot with a win over Rafael Dos Anjos? Sound off, PENN nation!