Denied a title fight, UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson draws ex-champ
Lightweight Tony Ferguson is still waiting for that elusive UFC title shot despite winning eight straight fights.
He’ll settle for a matchup with a former champ Saturday night in Mexico City.
Ferguson will take on Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of the finale card for Season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America.”
While it would be understandable if Ferguson was frustrated at not getting a title shot, he prefers to take the approach that he’s going to have to beat everyone else in the division at some point anyway.
“My road to gold is taking these guys and picking them off one by one by one by one,” Ferguson said from Mexico City in a video posted on the UFC website. “I will be the future champ.”
He may have been a step closer if not for some bad luck in July.
Ferguson, 32, was slated to face fellow contender Michael Chiesa until Chiesa had to pull out just two weeks before the fight. Instead, Ferguson took a risky fight against newcomer and complete unknown Lando Vannata.
Vannata’s funky style made life difficult for Ferguson until Ferguson ultimately extended his winning streak with a second-round submission.
It was far from the dominant performance Ferguson desired and dampened the momentum for him to get an opportunity to fight for the belt. It all became moot when featherweight champ Conor McGregor decided he was going to challenge lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 12.
Ferguson just wants to take care of the opportunity in front of him and he feels like he has a good chance to do that against dos Anjos, who lost the belt to Alvarez in July.
Even though he has an opportunity to prove himself against a former champion, Ferguson said there is no added incentive.
“Every fight is the same to me in that I’m only going to fight my way,” he said. “I’m not changing anything up just because the guy used to have the title or whatever.
“I hope he gives me the fight I want. He hasn’t presented anything to me and won’t present anything to me that I have not seen before. He’s hasn’t prepared like I have. This is my time now. I’m going to make the guy quit.”
Dos Anjos, 32, had his five-fight winning streak snapped with the first-round knockout loss to Alvarez. He said regaining the title has re-energized him in preparation for the matchup with Ferguson.
“I’m hungry to chase my belt back,’ he said. “I feel great. I’m in great shape.
“Tony’s a great fighter and he’s won eight straight, but he’s never faced anyone like me.”
The bout is part of a main card, which also includes a lightweight bout between Diego Sanchez and Marcin Held as well as the season title bout from ‘TUF Latin America 3,’ scheduled to air on Fox Sports 1 at 7 p.m.
The preliminary card will also air on the network at 5.
