Tony Ferguson reinvigorated after boxing 'lit a new fire underneath me that I absolutely f*cking needed'

29/08/2025 23:00

Tony Ferguson has been there, done that.

When it comes to his MMA career, the former UFC interim lightweight champion has faced the best and defeated most of them but even he's not above getting complacent when it comes to the challenges left ahead of him in the sport. After leaving the UFC and signing with GFL, Ferguson was happy with a matchup against Dillon Danis but the fight never happened because GFL effectively closed up shop before holding a single show.

A few months later, Ferguson surprisingly signed with Misfits Boxing with his debut set on Aug. 30 when he faces off with influencer Salt Papi in a co-main event from England. So how exactly did Ferguson end up in boxing?

"I've always wanted to box," Ferguson told MMA Fighting. "I wasn't allowed to box, I wasn't allowed to fight. Growing up, my dad is like you're going to be playing sports, you're going to go to college, you're going to get your education and can figure out what you want to do. But I'm not going to pay for your education. You're going to have to be good enough to get your scholarships. We chose wrestling instead of baseball or football and we ended up doing that. We won Nationals and we did all these things. Ended up in MMA [but] always wanted to box.

"When I saw Conor [McGregor] and Nate [Diaz] go box, I wanted to go box but nobody was allowing me to go box. It was like OK, your brand is with the UFC. You're an MMA fighter right now. So I was lucky enough to be able to co-brand my brand with the UFC brand, build my name up to a certain degree and to be able to use that for my future. Now thus, I'm a legend, I'm a f*cking myth or whatever you want to call it, the man. Now is that time."

While Ferguson is obviously best known for what he accomplished in the UFC, the now 41-year-old fighter says he's always had a passion for boxing.

In fact, Ferguson revealed that he always trained in a boxing ring rather than a cage when preparing for his fights. While the two sports are obviously very different, Ferguson never lost that desire to only focus on boxing, which is what his upcoming fight is allowing him to do.

"This is an opportunity for me to go out there, demonstrate what the f*ck I know," Ferguson said. "Because I have put more time in a boxing ring than I have in an octagon. Any time, I've ever prepared for a fight in the octagon, I was always in a boxing ring. Never in a cage. The only time I found myself in a cage was during fight night. That's how weird that shit was, right?

"Now I get to put on shoes. I don't have to worry about getting taken down. I don't have to worry about f*cking people trying to choke me out or do all this other shit. The interest is there."

Whether or not he'd classify it as going through the motions, Ferguson definitely found himself being stuck in a certain pattern towards the end of his run in the UFC.

Mixing things up with boxing has not only been a fun reset but it's given Ferguson a desire that he hasn't felt in a long while when it comes to his fighting career.

"I feel like how I was when I was preparing back when I first started in the UFC, like in The Ultimate Fighter," Ferguson said. "It's fresh. It's interesting to me. I'm excited. I don't know anybody. I don't know what the f*ck's going to happen but I know there's a bonus at the end of this f*cking road.

"They told me, you're going to get a knockout bonus and the Fight of the Night. That's what they were offering if you guys are good enough to do this. I'm like let's f*cking get paid. Because this is interesting to me. I'm f*cking hungry."

In limited interactions with his upcoming opponent, Ferguson has felt a much different energy from Salt Papi when it comes to the promos he's cut to sell the event versus the little bit of time they've spent around each other.

Hearing some of the comments made when he wasn't around irritates Ferguson and he's ready for the opportunity to shut down Salt Papi when they finally clash on Aug. 30.

"I got this dude that's says he's going to knock me out on a different camera," Ferguson said. "But when I'm meeting him, he's a chicken shit. He doesn't want to say the same shit. It's a different kind of entity when it comes into it. Yeah, you're f*cking right, it lit a new fire underneath me that I absolutely f*cking needed.

"That's exciting to me. Before hand, it wasn't as exciting. It was like what the f*ck. Now this is a new opportunity for me to be able to go out there and shine. I get more excited and I don't want to keep repeating myself but I don't have side quests anymore. This is a brand new f*cking game. This is a new game."

For now, Ferguson is only focused on his upcoming boxing match but he's previously stated that he's still interested in other opportunities available in combat sports whether that's a return to MMA, grappling matches or something else.

He won't field those offers until after he dispatches Salt Papi and then Ferguson promises he's ready open up for business again.

"I'm here for one reason. It's to f*ck shit up come Aug. 30. Misfits 22," Ferguson said. "Veruca Salt's going to have his hands f*cking full with 'El Cucuy.' Hate to talk to myself in the third person. It sounds f*cked up but yeah for sure."