UFC lightweight Dan Hooker believes it’s Tony Ferguson’s decision when it comes to retirement.

‘El Cucuy’ is fresh off his headlining role with Nate Diaz at UFC 279 on Saturday. Ferguson was first set to face Li Jingliang in the co-main event. However, after Khamzat Chimaev missed weight for his fight with Diaz, the former interim champion got the nod.

In the main event, the Stockton native submitted the former interim lightweight champion in round four. The bout was the fifth loss in a row for Ferguson and his second straight stoppage defeat. He’d been previously knocked out by Michael Chandler in May.

Following the loss to Nate Diaz, many called for Tony Ferguson to retire. While the 38-year-old seemed pleased with his performance, others weren’t as convinced. UFC commentator Daniel Cormier stated earlier this week that Ferguson looks like a shell of himself in the octagon.

However, Dan Hooker doesn’t buy into all of that talk. ‘The Hangman’ discussed Ferguson’s loss and subsequent retirement calls in an interview with The AllStar. There, the lightweight stated that when it comes to retirement, that should be Ferguson’s call, and nobody else.

The New Zealander, who called to fight the former champion in the past, stated that it’s hard to tell a fighter to call it quits. Especially when they’re finally making paydays near the end of their career.

“Weird fight. It was a messy fight,” Hooker said. “I would like to see Tony come back to ’55… Ferguson still has a lot of fun fights left in him. He obviously wants to keep fighting and wants to commit. At the end of the day, that’s really what it comes down to; the person. It’s within themselves when they wanna call it a day.” (h/t MMANews)

He continued, “It’s not anyone else’s place to come in… It’s a hard one for someone sitting on the outside to tell a guy like Tony Ferguson, ‘You need to stop fighting.’ He’s still making a boatload of cash.”

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