Tony Ferguson explains why he refused to be back-up for UFC 242 main event

During a recent episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Tony Ferguson revealed why he turned down the offer to be a replacement fighter for the main event of UFC 242.

UFC 242 will be topped by a lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier. If a fighter is injured or can no longer participate, a replacement opponent is often needed. However, Ferguson is not interested in filling that role.

“I would love to go, (but) first of all I’m not backup for anybody,” Ferguson said. “I’ve got twelve fights in a row dude, f*** that. They were talking about something, I was kinda interested but at the end of the day I’m not here to be a backup.

“Like I said, I have a belt, I won twelve in a row. The next fight that I have is for the belt. It’s going to have to have a lot of build up, especially for the fans. It’s got to have the hype man. It deserves a full camp and lead up time, you know what I’m talking about.”

Tony Ferguson continued, explaining that he simply feels like he’s earned a title fight with a full camp.

“At the end of the day I’ve done this already. I’ve fought for my title, I deserve more than that.”

Ferguson believes he has proven himself through his experience and doesn’t need to engage in interviews and hype unless he chooses. He intends on fighting the winner of the UFC 242 main event.

‘Money talks, bullsh** walks. We’re going to have see how the end of this weekend goes.”

Stay tuned to BJPENN.com for full UFC 242 coverage. Click here to learn how to watch the exciting event out of Abu Dhabi.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 9/4/2019.