Tony Ferguson: “Fighter’s who miss weight and make excuses – I call BS, it’s unprofessional”

Since winning the thirteenth season of Ultimate Fighter, “El Cucuy” Tony Ferguson has started to become a nightmare that is haunting the lightweight division of the UFC. Blessed with NCAA division II wrestling capabilities, the fighter is known to have heavy hands and is comfortable to keep the fight on his feet if an opponent chooses to do so.

Preparing for his third Octagon appearance, Ferguson took time to speak with Fight Hub TV about his opponent roulette for UFC on FOX: Diaz vs. Miller, fighters missing weight and his former coach Brock Lesnar returning to professional wrestling.

FHTV: It’s is a beautiful California evening, how are you enjoying the fight prep?

Ferguson: It is going really well man, the camp has gone well and my weight is on point. Just finished some workouts today and relaxing. It’s nice inVentura and I could not ask for anything more.

FHTV: Will this be a tough cut for you with the fight a few weeks out?

Ferguson: No. I am walking around right now at 164lbs and am staying focused on the fight. My lady takes real good care of me with my food and I am doing everything right to ensure that I come in at 155 to fight.

FHTV: UFC 145 saw a lot of fighters coming in overweight and some forfeited percentages of their purse. How do you react to that as a fighter when an opponent misses weight?

Ferguson: To me, it is a sign of disrespect; To yourself, team, coaches, and opponents. I know that everyone has their moments or a bad day or whatever they want to make as an excuse why they could not make weight, but I call BS on that. We are professional, you know? I am being paid and am being trained to be a professional, best in the world. That means I need to do everything I can to maintain a level of professionalism, it just shows who wants it and who doesn’t. I take eight weeks out of my life to get ready and ensure I will be the best when I step into the cage to fight and if the other guy has not, I will gladly take the extra cash and the victory because this, fighting in the UFC is what I do, it is my job.

FHTV: You have had your opponent changed three times now for this fight, has that affected training or mentality?

Ferguson: I am ready for the best in the world; it is who the UFC has on the roster. So, when I prepare for a fight, I am going in for a war, on all areas: the feet, the ground, grappling – my team has prepared me for a fight and prepared me to win. Dennis Hallman got hurt and had to pull, Thiago Tavares stepped in and same thing happened, I pray that they both are ok and have a quick recovery. Now I have Michael Johnson stepping up, this says a lot to me. It tells me that I pose a threat to guys who only want to fight me when they are prepared 100% and don’t want to risk a loss. It also shows me that Michael Johnson is ready to go in and defeat me, to take the fight as a replacement. We are both wrestlers, both have been on TUF, have a lot to prove to ourselves and the world with a victory. I am ready for a war; my sprawl is ready if he tries to take me down, if he wants to stand and trade hands with me, I am ready for that as well.

FHTV: Speaking of coaches, what is your opinion of your Ultimate Fighter coach, Brock Lesnar returning to WWE?

Ferguson: I am so happy for him. I did not grow up watching WWE and do not follow it now. My friend sent me a clip of him slamming John Cena and I loved it. I texted him after watching and told him how happy I was for him. You could see that glint in his eye where he was happy again and back to himself.

FHTV: Did his pro wrestling get brought up a lot when he was your coach on the show?

Ferguson: (Laughing) we all used to ask him to F-5 us and would kid around with him. I have had the pleasure of training with Brock and the rest of Team Death Clutch after TUF; I would see him sitting around with his stomach issues and playing with his kids which he loved, but you could see he had the itch to get back out there. Everyone hates on him for his time in the UFC and how he left, but the guy did what he wanted, became UFC champion and defended the title more than once. Plus, the guys he fought were all legit, you know? I am happy for him and wish him the best in whatever he does.

FHTV: Did you train with Death Clutch at all for this upcoming fight?

Ferguson: No, I decided to keep everything at home inVentura. I love Death Clutch and all the guys out there, I just felt better overall keeping this one home. If I wanna go to the beach, go see my grandma, chill with the lady after training, whatever – it’s all right here. Between Knuckleheadz Boxing and Paragon Jiu Jitsu, I am feeling very well prepared and confident leading into this fight.

FHTV: Also on your card is the main event between two lightweights, Nate Diaz and Jim Miller. There are talks of a title shot for the winner, what do you think about them as future opponents and who do you see winning?

Ferguson: I do not know too much about Miller, I know that he is able to grind out the win and is tough to put away. I heard that Nate Diaz just got his black belt in jiu jitsu and his hands are no joke either. I am gonna go with Diaz – the guy always brings it and is not scared of anyway he fights. One day I will be up there in the higher ranks with them, I am in no rush, one day at a time and I ma thankful for all of them. It is what motivates me though, getting to that spot.

FHTV: You have a love for the fans and are very approachable, have you always been like that or just since the UFC came along?

Ferguson: It’s who I am. I love people and life; I am no better than the next man and try to remain humble and grateful at all times. Fans see me at night getting cereal at the store and come up; I love it and love all my fans. They help push me and make me go to the gym when I don’t want to. Make me ask my coaches to show me what I did wrong and everything. I am very grateful for their support and love them all.

FHTV: Aside from fighting, you have a wedding coming up at the end of this year. Is it affecting your fight scheduling at all?

Ferguson: Depending on how the fight goes in a few weeks, I would take another fight before the wedding. My lady has this handled so all I need to do is show up. I love the whole planning and everything though and looking forward to spending the rest of my life with her.

FHTV: Anybody you would like to thank or mention?

Ferguson: Knuckleheadz Boxing, Paragon Jiu Jitsu, all of my coaches and teammates – you guys make me who I am and I thank you all for beating the crap out of me to get me there. Thank you to Fight Hub TV and you for wanting to talk with me. I wanna thank my lady for taknig such good care of me and always being there right next to me

All my fans out there, I love you guys. If you want to follow me on Twitter it is @TonyFergusonXT