Tony Ferguson: Nate Diaz is like McGregor’s bad ex-girlfriend, Tyron Woodley’s not that big

Back in early March, Tony Ferguson was scheduled for an interim lightweight title fight with undefeated Dagestani star Khabib Nurmagomedov. With Nurmagomedov now recovering from the issues that forced him out of the fight, and sidelined by the religious obligations presented by Ramadan, Ferguson has been forced to look elsewhere in the hunt for his next opponent.

That search has led him to MMA superstar Nate Diaz. Ferguson made his latest callout of Diaz, who has not been seen in action since he lost a decision to Conor McGregor in August, on the 5ive Rounds Podcast (via MMAFighting.com).

“He’s all on McGregor’s [expletive],” Ferguson said. “He’s like a f**king bad ex-girlfriend. Literally, a bad taste in somebody’s mouth if you win or you lose, you’ve gotta move on, dude. If you really want that money fight then you’re probably hurting for money. Literally, if you have that money fight, you should pay your taxes and then move on. This is a fighter sport. You’re ranked number what, eight? Ninth? Don’t you want to be better than that? S**t, dude you beat is ranked higher than you. Don’t you want an opportunity at the belt? Come on. I’m skipping a couple names but I’m giving you an opportunity. I’m doing you a favor, I’m not doing myself a f**king favor. I’m giving you a chance but if you don’t want it, that’s cool. I’ll give somebody else a chance.”

If Diaz isn’t available, Ferguson would also consider a possible move to welterweight.

“You want me to bump up a weight class and fight Tyron Woodley? I sized that dude up too and that dude is not that big. I sized up Wonderboy too. Carlos Condit. You know I got into this UFC game for Georges St-Pierre? Because he was at 170 pounds. When I fought I was 10-2, 11-2 after I won The Ultimate Fighter at 170 pounds. That was my 170-pound record, 11-2. I’m 23-3 now. So I’ve been fluctuating between two weight classes. I own 170 and 155. These are my weight classes. You want me to go back up to 170? I’m beefy. I feel good at 170. My wife loves me at 170. So, we’ve got options.”

Who do you want to see Tony Ferguson fight next?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/27/2017.