Daniel Cormier thinks Tony Ferguson needs a major step down in competition if the goal is to remain in the UFC.
Ferguson (25-9 MMA, 15-7 UFC) dropped his sixth straight fight when he was submitted by Bobby Green in the third round this past Saturday at UFC 291. The setback also marked his third stoppage loss in a row.
Prior to the fight, Ferguson still had aspirations of chasing UFC gold. Cormier wasn’t as harsh on Ferguson as he was in his past assessments, but he thinks “El Cucuy” can no longer hang with the best.
“Five fights to the title, that was his catchline all week, but now he’s lost six in a row,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC.” “Look man, this guy is not losing to terrible fighters. He’s lost to (Nate) Diaz, (Michael) Chandler, (Beneil) Dariush, (Charles) Oliveira, and Bobby Green now. But the reality is, he’s 39 years old, and while he still has a ton of heart to fight, it just does not seem like his body is allowing him to do everything that his mind is telling him to do.
“Because of that, and only that, I think it might be time for him to either say to the UFC, ‘I want to keep fighting but the competition needs to go down,’ or go fight somewhere else. He’s going to be mad at me about it, but yes, the fight’s still there. It just does not seem the body is able to respond in the way his mind is telling it to. So, I tap in (on Ferguson walking away).”
Ferguson did not mention intention to hang up his gloves after the loss vs. Green, but said he intends to meet with the UFC brass to discuss his future.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.
