Tony Ferguson is campaigning hard for a fight with Nate Diaz.
Ferguson took an opportunity on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour to go on a verbal onslaught targeting Diaz. With all of the comments that “El Cucuy” is throwing at the Stockton scrapper, it wouldn’t be a surprise if there is some sort of incident between the two that takes place outside of the Octagon if they ever cross paths, as Diaz is no stranger to that.
“I might as well Stockton Slap the sh*t outta you,” Ferguson said (transcribed by Shaun Al-Shatti for MMA Fighting). “Really? I’m from the 805, man. I don’t have to talk about where I’m from, but I’m tough. I’m a hell of a lot tougher than that dude, because money never made me soft. And sh*t, even if it made me soft, I wouldn’t forget where I came from. Because you know what? You’ve got a place to represent — like you said ‘represent.’ You’ve got a man right here that’s calling you out, and you’re not signing on the dotted line? You’re a clown, dude. You’re fake.”
Ferguson, who is the #2 UFC ranked lightweight behind Khabib Nurmagomedov is more than confident in the matchup with Diaz, who is currently ranked #8 in the division.
“Obviously I already know I’d beat him already, but if he wants to go that route, we want to put it inside that Octagon, let’s make that paper talk. Let’s go. Let’s make that money, dude. You want to go? I’m a hell of a lot better than you. You try to Stockton Slap me — whatever you f*cking call it — dude, I will hit you with my jab so hard you’ll f*cking knock your teeth out.
“I mean, there’s not too much I have to say to pick him apart,” Ferguson added. “The dude is a good easy target, but I think that obviously if he says how interested he is in training for a good fight, let’s go. If he wants to put all that effort towards a triathlon or something like that, put that effort and everything else towards something that you’re actually in, that you’re ranked in, in the world actually. Put in that effort. Act interested. If not, like I said, get the f*ck out.
“You consider yourself gangster? You’re backing down from a fight. Let’s go, dude. We got a main event that’s open that needs to be filled. So if you want to make some money, you want to impress the fans, you want to get back out there and sell your weed, do your sh*t, that’s fine, man. Put your name back in the crowd. Let’s do this sh*t, man. Sign on the dotted line. Let’s go, kid.”
Do you think all of Tony Ferguson’s talk will get Nate Diaz to fight him? Will the UFC be willing to pay Nate Diaz the kind of money he expects to make after his Conor McGregor bouts that he cashed in on? Let’s get your thoughts in the comment section!
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/25/2017.