After a horrendous string of 8 consecutive losses for Tony Ferguson, Dana White made his stance clear, “I would love to see Tony retire.” And just like that, the UFC head honcho pushed the former 155lbs interim champ toward the hardest decision of his career, packing up his legacy and moving on. “I have to tell you, I packed up all my UFC stuff, I put it in bags, and it was the hardest f——g thing I had to do,” ‘El Cucuy’ admitted. After a disastrous fall of grace, reality was staring him in the face. But retirement? That was never in his vocabulary. If he was going down, he was going down swinging.
“I have to tell you, I packed up all my UFC stuff, I put it in bags, and it was the hardest fucking thing I had to do. It was a couple of days where it took time for me to be able to adjust… I was ready to move on.”
Tony Ferguson on the end of his journey with UFC. pic.twitter.com/gloBhhQEBh
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 3, 2025
So, instead of calling it quits, Ferguson took a drastic turn. After nearly 14 years in the UFC, he found a new home in the newly minted Global Fight League (GFL) in January 2025, and his first opponent? None other than Dillon Danis, the man who has somehow become the most hated figure in combat sports without actually fighting. The duo is set to clash in Los Angeles on May 11 at 170lbs. And to no one’s surprise, the fight community was quick to point out the disperency in the scheduled match-up owing to Ferguson’s recent form and Danis’s inactivity. But here’s the kicker, this fight makes perfect sense. Why? Let’s break it down!
1. Tony Ferguson has a great chance to end his losing streak
Let’s be honest, watching Tony Ferguson lose back-to-back has been painful. Since that fateful night in 2020 when Justin Gaethje battered him into oblivion, it’s been one loss after another. Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush, Michael Chandler, Nate Diaz, Bobby Green, Paddy Pimblett, Michael Chiesa, the list is long, and it’s brutal. If this losing streak continued in the UFC, we might’ve had to stage an intervention.
But here’s the silver lining in the upcoming bout. Dillon Danis isn’t exactly the kind of guy who keeps the lightweight division (165lbs in GFL) up at night. Sure he has his merits. He’s got a solid BJJ pedigree, but when it comes to actual MMA record? Just two fights. And, of late, it’s not like he’s been sharpening his skills against killers. More often than not, he’s been making headlines for what he says online rather than what he does in the cage.
Meanwhile, Ferguson might be 41 and have more battle scars than he’d like, but when it comes to actual MMA ability, he’s still miles ahead, at least as per stats. If this fight stretches past the first round, it’s Tony’s world, and Danis is just visiting, and definitely not a resident. Again ‘Double D’ has the grappling chops, no doubt, but Ferguson has spent years going to war with some of the best in the game. If there was ever a time to break the streak, this is it, it is now.
2. People want to see Dillon Danis beaten up
Let’s not sugarcoat it, Dillon Danis has built a reputation as a polarizing figure in combat sports, and seems like he is aware of it. He talks a big game and has been involved in high-profile feuds, but his actual time in the cage has been limited. His scheduled fight with KSI? It never happened, which left many questioning his reliability as a competitor. With only a few MMA fights under his belt, fans are eager to see if he can truly back up his words.
It’s no surprise then that when he ran a poll on X asking if he was the most hated athlete in the world, a staggering 73% of people said yes. That’s an insane level of collective disdain, whatever happened to a little sportsmanship folks? Now, imagine the satisfaction of watching Tony Ferguson, a true warrior of the sport, put a beating on him. The MMA community has suffered enough, let us have this one moment of joy. Watching Ferguson snap that losing streak and silence Danis would be pure catharsis.
3. Pure chaos, entertainment & a trash-talk war
Do you think Conor McGregor can sell a fight? Sure. But if there’s one thing Ferguson and Danis have in common, it’s that they’re both completely unhinged on the mic. ‘El Jefe’ has built a reputation for his online presence, engaging in feuds with Logan Paul, KSI, and just about anyone willing to fire back. The question now is whether he can translate that energy into the cage and prove his skills under the bright lights. Meanwhile, the former 155lbs interim champ has been entertaining fans with his bizarre yet captivating personality for years. Ariel Helwani once labeled Ferguson’s antics as ‘cringeworthy’ but that never stopped ‘El Cucuy’ from fully embracing his own brand of madness.
Take, for example, the time he declared himself the ‘CSO-Chief Security Officer’ of the UFC. And no, this wasn’t some offhand joke. With a straight face, he explained that it was his duty, bestowed upon him by the UFC boss himself, to spread the game worldwide. Whether anyone else saw it that way is another question entirely, but that’s just the Tony Ferguson experience. The man operates on a different wavelength.
This fight would be absolute chaos, that too in the best way possible. And let’s not forget Ferguson’s unpredictable training methods, this is a guy who conditions his shins by kicking metal pipes and embraces his ‘Boogeyman’ persona like no other. Whether it’s his wild movement drills or the eerie confidence he carries into every fight, Ferguson is as unorthodox as they come. Imagine the promo videos!
There’s no way this fight won’t turn into absolute mayhem. And for the first time in a while, Ferguson would be the one walking into the cage as the fan favorite. Tony Ferguson vs. Dillon Danis is everything we need in MMA right now. It’s a spectacle, a grudge match, and the perfect chance for Ferguson to get back in the win column.
Tony Ferguson says that his fight against Dillon Danis will take place on May 11th in Los Angeles.
(Per: @arielhelwani @TonyFergusonXT) pic.twitter.com/sySnQNIoTd
— MMA UNCENSORED (@MMAUNCENSORED1) March 3, 2025
So, we have two questions in hand, can Ferguson finally snap his losing streak, and will Danis actually show up? For ‘El Cucuy’, it’s a shot at redemption. It’s a win-win for us. Either we witness Tony finally get his hand raised, or we add another chapter in the unpredictable saga of Dillon Danis. So what’s your take? Is this the fight Ferguson needs, or are we in for another ‘Double D’ no-show? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
The post 3 Reasons Why Dillon Danis Is the Perfect Fight for Tony Ferguson & GFL appeared first on EssentiallySports.
