Quote: Tony Ferguson Has Too Much ‘Firepower’ For Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor is back, and everyone wants in on the action.
Add former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson to that mix. Ferguson is currently hours away from making his Octagon return off recovery from an LCL tear. “El Cucuy” will face Anthony “Showtime” Pettis in the co-main event of UFC 229 tomorrow (Sat. October 6, 2018).
In the main event, Conor McGregor also makes his Octagon return. He’ll challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov for the 155-pound title. As for who the Ferguson camp is rooting for, “El Cucuy’s” jiu-jitsu coach, Eddie Bravo, points to McGregor. Bravo told BJPenn.com Radio that he wants to see McGregor and Ferguson should both win tomorrow night.
After that, it would set up a title fight between McGregor and Ferguson in early 2019, and his fighter would take home a big payday (via Bloody Elbow):
“Conor’s the one,” Bravo said. “Tony would destroy him on the ground. All we gotta do is get him on the ground. And Tony has the stand up to hang with Conor.
Tony’s f*cked up Edson Barboza, Tony f*cked up Rafael Dos Anjos, Josh Thomson, [Katsunori] Kikuno; all these guys with great standup, Tony’s f*cked ’em up. All of ’em. So obviously, we gotta respect Conor’s power, but I think Tony can handle Conor on his feet.”
Overmatched On The Mat?
Many would give McGregor the edge over Ferguson and Nurmagomedov standing. If it went to grappling, that’s a polar opposite situation. Ferguson’s dangerous chokes and transitions would definitely be a problem for McGregor, and his coach knows it.
Bravo believes the fight would indeed hit the ground. When it did, Ferguson would have too much firepower for the Irish slugger:
“And once he drags him down, Tony’s got too much firepower for Conor. I want Conor to win ’cause I want Tony to fight Conor. Being involved in that would be the ultimate. And you know, and then Tony would get mad pay, which is great.
“So I’m hoping Conor wins. I’m hoping it’s Tony [vs.] Conor sometime early next year.”
Ferguson might have to do something special Saturday night to solidify a fight with McGregor. The Irishman has been pretty vocal that he’s looking to only participate in big-money fights from here on out. Recently, McGregor expressed interest in a potential showdown with former middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva.
There have also been rumors about Georges St-Pierre dropping down to lightweight to fight “The Notorious.” McGregor has also confirmed he intends to give Nate Diaz a rematch from their UFC 202 bout in 2016.
With that said, Ferguson might have to wait in a long line before fighting “Mystic Mac.”
