Morning Report: Daniel Cormier believes Tony Ferguson could have 'one more night in him' against Paddy Pimblett

28/09/2023 13:00

Tony Ferguson's pursuit of a win continues at UFC 296.

The UFC's final event of the year is shaping up to be stacked. Amongst the recent batch of fight announcements is a lightweight crossroads matchup, pitting the one-time interim title holder Ferguson against returning superstar prospect Paddy Pimblett.

Although "The Baddy" is still relatively unproven and will enter the bout off a controversial decision win over Jared Gordon, he's opened as a big favorite over the veteran. The once-feared Ferguson tore through the division from 2013 to 2019, winning 12 straight bouts. Unfortunately for the 39-year-old "El Cucuy," his fortune has reversed and he's lost six straight since his last win over Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. Former two-division UFC champion and Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier feels this may be exactly the fight needed for Ferguson to remind everyone who he was at his best.

"Is it as simple as he just needs one?" Cormier asked on his YouTube channel. "Because imagine what happens if Tony Ferguson beats Paddy Pimblett. He said before the last fight, I sat with him in the fighter meeting and Tony Ferguson said, 'It's going to be a fight right now, five more fights, I'm on the title.' So, it's not like he has lost that desire to fight. He has not lost the thought that he can be a world champion.

"I'm gonna tell you this right now, and this is the saying as old as time, fellas. Every great champion has one more night in him. We saw it with George Foreman when he beat Michael Moorer. He did not belong in the ring with Michael Moorer. We have seen so many great fighters have one great night, where if you close your eyes and you squint enough, they remind you of that person that was on that run."

At his best, Ferguson was on a crash course with his fellow lightweight elite and the future champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. As history would have it, the pairing went down as the most cursed fight of all time, falling apart on five separate occasions with two times a piece being the faults of each fighter and the other because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A loss to Pimblett for Ferguson would etch him into the wrong pages of the MMA history books as seven straight losses is the UFC record for a losing streak, potentially tying him with B.J. Penn. Ferguson's tumble began with his May 2020 interim title bout opposite the recently crowned BMF champion Justin Gaethje. Cormier believes things just haven't been the same since.

"I think Tony Ferguson was so good," Cormier said. "The way he would hit these guys, they would look like they were bludgeoned.

"I think he lost something in the Justin Gaethje fight. Middle of a pandemic, no people in the arena, fighting Justin Gaethje for five rounds, getting beat up for as long as that took. I thought he lost something in that fight and he just never looked the same afterwards. But not many people [don't] lose something when they fight Justin Gaethje. Justin Gaethje takes a little part of you that you don't get back. So, I don't think you can blame Tony Ferguson for that."

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VIDEO STEW

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Tsuyoshi Sudario (7-2) vs. Dong Hwam Lim (5-6); RIZIN Landmark 6, Sept. 29

Darko Stosic (18-6) vs. Michal Martinek (10-4); KSW 87, Oct. 17

Jun Yong Park (17-5) vs. Andre Muniz (23-6); UFC Fight Night, Dec. 9

FINAL THOUGHTS

Even though it's logical matchmaking at this point, I'm still somewhat surprised they're giving Pimblett Ferguson. I think the layoff adds some shock to it but either way... this is what it's come to.

Thanks for reading!

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