{"id":273756,"date":"2018-04-03T05:56:07","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T12:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=273756"},"modified":"2018-04-03T05:56:07","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T12:56:07","slug":"tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Ferguson explains why he shouldn’t be stripped of interim lightweight title"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having been forced out of the UFC 223 main event with a freakish leg injury<\/a>, it now sounds as though the UFC will strip Tony Ferguson of the interim lightweight title he’s owned since October. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Max Holloway, meanwhile, will battle for the undisputed title in the new UFC 223 main event.<\/p>\n

While UFC President Dana White has suggested this is the way things will shake out<\/a>, Ferguson believes he should be allowed to hang onto his interim title just as former interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker was when Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre<\/a> fought for the undisputed title in November.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t spoken with the UFC yet about what\u2019s next,\u201d Ferguson said on Monday\u2019s edition of The MMA Hour<\/a> (h\/t MMAFighting<\/a>). \u201cSo when I saw what was in [Dana White’s ESPN] interview, it shocked me, man, it hurt me even more. It was something I couldn\u2019t control with this injury. This all started snowballing this weekend, man. Of all weekends. The UFC hasn\u2019t said anything to me about my title going away, and I don\u2019t think it will go away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t strip a champion due to a freak injury that happened during a UFC-obligated media event,\u201d Ferguson said.<\/p>\n

Ferguson then gave a bit more insight on the injury that sidelined him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just a matter of, I slipped, man,\u201d Ferguson said. \u201cI heard it pop. Once we got back to the car after FOX interviewed us, I turned to wife to tell her what happened, and she was concerned. I had a couple of my team members, and UFC staff with me. Afterwards I went home and did a pool workout and I felt tension and danger in my workout. I woke up on Friday with some pain and I still tried to push through it. You guys know me, I\u2019m tough. I tried to train later that evening after taking a day of rest but my knee locked up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI woke up Saturday with even more pain, but I tried to push through it and train again,\u201d Ferguson said. \u201cBut it locked up on me, my knee was giving out a few times, and slowly it dawned on me, I knew something was f*cked up and more serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tony Ferguson concluded:<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean seriously, there is a precedent for having a fight for a real title [fight] and keeping an interim title intact,\u201d Ferguson said. \u201cThey just did that with Robert Whittaker last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI just hope they do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Do you think Tony Ferguson should be allowed to hang onto the interim lightweight title after UFC 223, given the circumstances of his injury?<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on\u00a0<\/i>BJPenn.com<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u00a0on 4\/3\/2018.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having been forced out of the UFC 223 main event with a freakish leg injury, it now sounds as though the UFC will strip Tony Ferguson of the interim lightweight title he’s owned since October. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Max Holloway, meanwhile, will battle for the undisputed title in the new UFC 223 main event. While […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54430,"featured_media":232992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10113],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nTony Ferguson explains why he shouldn't be stripped of interim lightweight title | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tony Ferguson explains why he shouldn't be stripped of interim lightweight title | BJPenn.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Having been forced out of the UFC 223 main event with a freakish leg injury, it now sounds as though the UFC will strip Tony Ferguson of the interim lightweight title he’s owned since October. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Max Holloway, meanwhile, will battle for the undisputed title in the new UFC 223 main event. While […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"| BJPenn.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-03T12:56:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Tony-Ferguson.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"730\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"380\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tom Taylor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bjpenndotcom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bjpenndotcom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tom Taylor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tom Taylor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/e1a3f1e5a045aeaf5b59aa1549a06a87\"},\"headline\":\"Tony Ferguson explains why he shouldn’t be stripped of interim lightweight title\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-03T12:56:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-04-03T12:56:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/\"},\"wordCount\":469,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Tony Ferguson\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2018\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/\",\"name\":\"Tony Ferguson explains why he shouldn't be stripped of interim lightweight title | BJPenn.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-03T12:56:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-04-03T12:56:07+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"MMA News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Tony Ferguson\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Tony Ferguson explains why he shouldn’t be stripped of interim lightweight title\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/\",\"name\":\"| BJPenn.com\",\"description\":\"MMA & UFC News, Results & Fight Videos\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\",\"name\":\"| BJPenn.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png\",\"width\":600,\"height\":148,\"caption\":\"| BJPenn.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/bjpenn\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bjpenn\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/bjpenndotcom\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/0fficialbjpenn\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bjpenndotcom\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/e1a3f1e5a045aeaf5b59aa1549a06a87\",\"name\":\"Tom Taylor\",\"description\":\"Tom Taylor is a globetrotting writer currently based in Ottawa, Canada. He is a staff writer for BJPenn.com, and also covers mixed martial arts for Fightland and Vice Sports. Follow him on Twitter @TomTayMMA.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/author\/tom-taylor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tony Ferguson explains why he shouldn't be stripped of interim lightweight title | BJPenn.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tony Ferguson explains why he shouldn't be stripped of interim lightweight title | BJPenn.com","og_description":"Having been forced out of the UFC 223 main event with a freakish leg injury, it now sounds as though the UFC will strip Tony Ferguson of the interim lightweight title he’s owned since October. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Max Holloway, meanwhile, will battle for the undisputed title in the new UFC 223 main event. While […]","og_url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/","og_site_name":"| BJPenn.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn","article_published_time":"2018-04-03T12:56:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":730,"height":380,"url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Tony-Ferguson.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Tom Taylor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bjpenndotcom","twitter_site":"@bjpenndotcom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tom Taylor","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/"},"author":{"name":"Tom Taylor","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/e1a3f1e5a045aeaf5b59aa1549a06a87"},"headline":"Tony Ferguson explains why he shouldn’t be stripped of interim lightweight title","datePublished":"2018-04-03T12:56:07+00:00","dateModified":"2018-04-03T12:56:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/"},"wordCount":469,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Tony Ferguson"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2018","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/","url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/","name":"Tony Ferguson explains why he shouldn't be stripped of interim lightweight title | BJPenn.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-04-03T12:56:07+00:00","dateModified":"2018-04-03T12:56:07+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/tony-ferguson-explains-why-he-shouldnt-be-stripped-of-interim-lightweight-title\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"MMA News","item":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Tony Ferguson","item":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/tony-ferguson\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Tony Ferguson explains why he shouldn’t be stripped of interim lightweight title"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/","name":"| BJPenn.com","description":"MMA & UFC News, Results & Fight Videos","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization","name":"| BJPenn.com","url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png","width":600,"height":148,"caption":"| BJPenn.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/instagram.com\/bjpenn","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bjpenn","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/bjpenndotcom\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/0fficialbjpenn","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn","https:\/\/twitter.com\/bjpenndotcom"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/e1a3f1e5a045aeaf5b59aa1549a06a87","name":"Tom Taylor","description":"Tom Taylor is a globetrotting writer currently based in Ottawa, Canada. He is a staff writer for BJPenn.com, and also covers mixed martial arts for Fightland and Vice Sports. Follow him on Twitter @TomTayMMA.","url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/author\/tom-taylor\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273756"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54430"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}