MMA veteran Tony Ferguson has warned Paddy Pimblett that he will "run out of the cage" when the pair meet at UFC 296 this weekend.
The 39-year-old will be hoping to end his six-fight losing streak on Saturday when he comes up about Liverpool-born Pimblett, who will make his much-anticipated return following a year out through injury.
Ferguson recently detailed the positive changes he’s made to his training programme in recent months, including the addition of former Navy SEAL-turned ultramarathon runner David Goggins, the motivational speaker he calls 'Chief'.
“It was hard as f—, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life,” he said. “I’m glad I did it. To be real, I didn’t know what Chief was about, I really didn’t.
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"He showed up no questions asked, and it was always ‘Yes sir coach,’ and no matter what time it was or what we had to do, no questions. No ‘How many are we doing’ or ‘How long are we going to go.’"
Ferguson added: “It was the biggest mental alley-oop that I’ve needed to get my s— together and I’m very glad for it and now it’s very cool because we went to training at the compound yesterday and I feel back at home.”
The California-born fighter is certainly confident about his chances. In fact, when speaking to ESPN's Brett Okamoto ahead of Saturday's bout, Ferguson sent a chilling warning to his upcoming opponent.
"It's going to go the way I want," he said. "I've already visualized it, I've trained my ass off, I don't see this kid beating me. He's worried about me blocking him on Instagram, sensitive little bastard.
"Wait 'till you get cut, see your own blood, you're gonna run out of the cage back to mommy."
Check out his warning below:
Paddy Pimblett, meanwhile, has said it's an "honour" to to be able to fight 'El Cucuy'.
“[He is] one of the best lightweights of all time," Pimblett said. "When I was a kid watching UFC at 15, 16, when I just started training, he was in the UFC then. I was watching him fight then.
"So it’s like that cliche saying when your heroes become your rivals. It’s one of them. Even I want to see Tony go out on a win, but I can’t let him do it at my expense. It’s not happening.”
UFC legend Michael Bisping also gave his take on the upcoming bout this week.
"You've got to respect Tony Ferguson. Do you know what it takes to go out there and continue to keep stepping foot in the octagon? When you lose one, it's hard enough," said Bisping.
"When you lose two, doubt starts to creep in. Three, you think you shouldn't do this anymore. Four, five, six, time after time after time he is making that walk against world class opponents, not looking for easy prey. He's walking out there and people are ridiculing. People are talking sh*t. People still have love and affection for Tony Ferguson because of the battles, and it's the battles is why he probably finds himself in this position.
"Tony has a style where he take a lot of damage, puts on wild fights. They're incredible to watch. We know this, but that kind of style is not conducive to a long career.
'Tony Ferguson is at the end of a long, glittering, legendary career. He's almost 40-years old. 39, that's very old for a lightweight. You depend on speed, your reflexes, your instincts. It's not about power. Heavyweights rely on power, and power is the last thing to go. Speed, timing, reflexes, they're some of the first things to go, so certainly that's part of the reason Tony is slowing down.
"The damage is part of the reason he's slowing down, and also the quality of opponent. But Paddy's not ranked, so a lot of people think that if Tony loses this he should retire. What happens if he beats Paddy Pimblett?"
Bisping added: "Paddy Pimblett's a great fighter. Make no mistake. He's faster on his feet. He's probably got better boxing if you look at it skill for skill, but Paddy carries his chin kind of high in the air. I've seen better defense on Power Slap sometimes."
Topics: UFC, Tony Ferguson, Paddy Pimblett
Jack Kenmare