Tony Ferguson reveals he’s sparring again ahead of his return at UFC Abu Dhabi

Tony Ferguson is back sparring as he’s set to return to the Octagon on Saturday against Michael Chiesa at UFC Abu Dhabi.

Ferguson enters the bout on a seven-fight losing streak and is moving back up to welterweight to take on Chiesa in what could be his final UFC fight. Although Ferguson is on a losing skid, he still has confidence in himself, and ahead of his return, he says he started to spar again and feels like he’s in a good spot in his career.

"This camp was a little more interesting for me. I went back to sparring and I was excited."

Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) makes the move up to welterweight and is eager to go out and perform against Michael Chiesa at #UFCAbuDhabi 👊

— UFC News (@UFCNews) July 30, 2024

“I want to continue to do this so I have to perform and I will perform. This camp was a little more interesting for me. I went back to sparring and I was excited about this like how I first fought in Mexico, it was something new, it towards something I could enjoy,” Ferguson said to the UFC… “I took this camp very seriously.”

Tony Ferguson says he hasn’t sparred in seven years and says he is feeling as good as he has in a long time. He thinks the sparring will be the difference against Michael Chiesa as he looks to snap his losing streak. However, it will be easier said than done, as Ferguson is a massive underdog as he’s a +470 underdog which is the biggest underdog on the card. With that said, ‘El Cucuy’ believes he has put the right work in to get the win.

Ferguson is 25-10 as a pro and is coming off a decision loss to Paddy Pimblett back in December. It was his seventh straight loss as he hasn’t won since June of 2019 when he scored a TKO win over Donald Cerrone. On the losing skid, he has also lost to Bobby Green, Nate Diaz, Michael Chandler, Beneil Dariush, Charles Oliveira, and Justin Gaethje.

Tony Ferguson is the former UFC interim lightweight champ. Before the seven-fight losing skid, he was on a 12-fight winning streak.