Anthony Pettis is going up against Eddie Alvarez this coming month as he tries to get back the spot and MMA belt that he had before.
In a recent interview, Tony Ferguson admitted that he really doesn’t mind if Pettis wins over Alvarez. Either way, Ferguson wants to get in the cage with Pettis at some point.
“Listen to this. I’m gonna call out Anthony Pettis right now. Regardless if he wins or loses, I’d like to kick that guy’s ass. I think he deserves it and I think he needs a little butt whoopin.'” Ferguson said during an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.
Ferguson quickly clarified that he has nothing personal against Pettis. He just sees going against Pettis, and defeating him, would be a very exciting event. Ferguson has clearly been doing very well in his division and going up against Pettis would definitely be a great show.
“El Cucuy” was amazing when he went against Edson Barboza last Friday at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale, which was held in Nevada. Ferguson won over Barboza after the submitting the contender in the second round. He earned a total of $100,000 in bonuses that night, where he received Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night awards. This isn’t the first time Ferguson won the said award; in fact, it was his third straight time to win the Performance of the Night bonus.
“My fuel for my fire is to be able to provide for my family. So regardless of who they put in front of me, that’s the whole purpose of why I’m doing this. So my baby doesn’t have to fight. It doesn’t matter. As long as I have a job and I keep fighting, it doesn’t matter if it’s Conor [McGregor], Pettis, you put Alvarez, you put [Donald] Cerrone, [Rafael dos Anjos]. You put any of those dudes in front of me, I’m gonna get victorious,” Ferguson said.
Dos Anjos is set to defend his lightweight belt against Cerron this Saturday in the UFC on FOX 17 event. Ferguson admitted that whoever wins in the bout wouldn’t really matter to him.
“For me, I don’t care who wins. I don’t give a sh*t. Because honestly I’m gonna see them both. I guarantee it. … These guys are all beatable,” he said.
Just like the others, Ferguson called out McGregor since the new featherweight champion is planning to go up the weight division and fight for the lightweight title. With Ferguson’s amazing record, winning fight after fight and having five finishes recently, he definitely deserves a shot for the title. However, he’s not exactly sure how to feel if McGregor comes up the division and fights for the title he is aiming for.
“It doesn’t matter. But if he does come up to 155 pounds, then that adds to our pool. So it’s gonna make it a little bit deeper and I’m gonna be pissed if all that work I did this weekend doesn’t put me up in numbers,” Ferguson admited.
At the end of it all, Ferguson simply admitted that he’s most concerned with continuing to go up the MMA ladder and fight all the top MMA fighters in the division. That’s the main reason why he is hoping he would be able to face Pettis inside the cage and get one more shot at a bonus, nothing else.
“Nothing bad to say about him. I’m just intense, Ariel. That’s how I am. … He’s in my weight class. He’s No. 1. He’s got my number. He’s got it coming. He deserves it,” Ferguson added.