Tony Ferguson Says Conor McGregor ‘Talked’ His Way To Title

After submitting Kevin Lee to become the interim lightweight champion at UFC 216 earlier this month, Tony Ferguson has begun campaigning for a fight with undisputed champion Conor McGregor.

McGregor was last seen taking on the legendary Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match on Aug. 26. Prior to that, he hadn’t fought since knocking out Eddie Alvarez to become the lightweight champion at UFC 205 last November.

It’s unclear when McGregor will make his return to the Octagon, and it’s also unclear who he’ll take on in his return. Ferguson, however, recently said that the Irishman ‘can’t run away’:

“This guy needs an ass whooping at my hands. There is nobody else in line, so he needs to unify the belts,” Ferguson told TMZ Sports. “You can’t run away. If you want a money fight against Nate, set it (the belt) down and fucking walk away,” he said.

There have indeed been rumors indicating that a trilogy bout between McGregor and Nate Diaz could be in the works, but UFC President Dana White has said that a fight between McGregor and Ferguson is the fight to make.

Ferguson obviously agrees, and he even went as far as to label McGregor as the ‘paper champ’:

“But, I guarantee you, he’s an athlete, and he is going to take it right to the heart because he doesn’t like to be called a paper champ. That paper champ is all paper. He talked his way into the title. He has talked his way into a whole lot,” said Ferguson.

“I’m a mental warfare kind of guy. He’s good at this (talking). When you put hose kinds of things together, my high IQ and my fight IQ, it’s way too much for him. I save a lot of my A plus material for that bastard.”

At the end of the day, it seems as if “El Cucuy” feels as if McGregor is trying to avoid him:

“He has no backbone, no spine and he’s never mentioned my name ever. He said he was going to watch this fight. Not only did he watch it, but he is sitting around in his yacht saying, ‘Holy shit, I got the boogyman on my tail, the grim reaper is coming for my ass.’ That’s what he’s fucking saying. I have his number. I put the numbers down and I got my belt,” concluded Ferguson.

Would you like to see McGregor and Ferguson do battle?