Ferguson will pull on the boxing gloves and step into the squared circle at Misfits Boxing’s X Series 22: Ring of Thrones, where he’ll face Nathaniel “Salt Papi: Bustamante at the AO Arena.
It’s a different kind of test for Ferguson, whose UFC run ended after eight consecutive losses. But, despite that run of losses, Ferguson has only lost by KO/TKO twice in his entire MMA career.
“I feel great,” he told reporters during the pre-fight press conference.
“I feel sharp close to this fight. I don’t have to talk too much, there’s enough that’s been said already. I don’t really want to talk too much because I don’t have to talk.
“This has been a great camp, I’m listening to my coaches. I felt uncomfortable during camp so I can feel comfortable during the fight. We’ve got a couple of days to go, the weight is good and I feel confident.”
It’s been a long time since Ferguson has tasted victory, with his last competitive win coming via doctor stoppage against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone back in June 2019. But, despite that six-year winless run, Ferguson is confident that he has what it takes to hand the hard-hitting Salt Papi the third defeat of his influencer boxing career.
“We have many ways of shutting him down,” he stated.
“I feel comfortable here. I get to put shoes on. In MMA, I never really got to put shoes on. This has been a dream for me. This has been a big dream for myself.
“I always found myself comfortable inside a boxing ring. The only time I ever found myself in a cage was during fight night. Being real, I always wanted to box and I was never allowed to. This is an opportunity to express my talents.
“We’ve got five rounds to go out there so we’re not going to leave it to a draw. I’m going to go out there and you’re going to see the best Tony Ferguson has been in a while.”
Misfits Boxing X Series 22: Ring of Thrones
- Darren Till vs Luke Rockhold – bridgerweight
- Tony Ferguson vs Salt Papi – middleweight
- Dillon Danis vs Warren Spencer – light heavyweight MMA
- Joey Essex vs Numeiro – middleweight
- Ty Mitchell vs Sean Hemphill – super middleweight
- Chase DeMoor vs Natan Marcon – heavyweight
- Amadeusz Ferrari vs Rahim Pardesi – light heavyweight
- Amir Anderson vs Vitor Siqueira – middleweight
- Carla Jade vs Daryn Harris – lightweight
- Demi Sims vs Nadeshi Hopkin – cruiserweight
