Tony Ferguson explains why he decided to make weight today: “It just made sense”

Tony Ferguson decided to make weight today even though UFC 249, which would’ve taken place on Saturday, was postponed.

Ferguson was originally set to battle Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title. Yet, the Russian withdrew from the bout leaving “El Cucuy” to take on Justin Gaethje for an interim belt. But, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was postponed.

Although the event was delayed, Ferguson all week said he was going to make weight and he live-streamed himself hitting 155 pounds this morning. Why he decided to make weight today was simple.

“It just made sense, man,” Ferguson said to theScore. “It was just another reason to get ready, it gives some people something to talk about. There’s nothing going on in sports. I could either just roll out of bed, or I could actually do this for my team. [The fight] didn’t go down, but mentally, it made sense to me to make sure that I moved forward with my weight, with my word. So that way I knew I could do it again and again and again.”

Tony Ferguson revealed he weighed 179 pounds, which is on the high end for him. So, that made the cut hard but he is glad he did it as it will help him prepare for his May 9 fight.

“I found it a little bit struggling at first, because I thought I would have the fight week and everything else to go with it,” Ferguson said. “And then when you hear the news that the fight week is canceled, you’re like, ‘Oh no.’ Then you have to make weight a certain day and it’s kind of uncertain.

“But I talked to my nutritionist and it was reassuring, because we’ve been through this many, many times,” he continued. “I was trained very well in the weight cut. I’ve been cutting weight since I was little for wrestling. I know it like a textbook.”

What do you make of Tony Ferguson’s reason as to why he made weight today? Sound off in the comment section, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/17/2020.