Former UFC Lightweight Champion Tony Ferguson will take on Paddy Pimblett at the closing pay-per-view event of the year, UFC 296. Paddy Pimblett, who is riding an impressive winning streak of 3 matches in the UFC, will be looking to extend his winning run by securing the biggest win of his career thus far. Tony Ferguson, on the other hand, comes into the fight with six straight defeats and will be looking to avoid his seventh loss in a row.
There have been a lot of comments from mixed martial arts experts and fans questioning the matchmaking between these two fighters. The reason for this is that Paddy is a newcomer to the UFC stage, he just made his debut in 2021. While Ferguson has been fighting in the UFC since 2011 and is the more experienced of the two.
Tony Ferguson will face Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296 in Las Vegas, Dana White announced Friday. pic.twitter.com/XwmpZvhSy2
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 23, 2023
UFC president Dana White was questioned about what he thought regarding the match-up between Ferguson and Pimblett. He was really positive about the match-up and labeled it as the perfect timing which promised to be an exciting fight.
Dana White defends Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblett matchup
The American businessman said, “I agree with you because I think a lot of people think that Paddy is unproven and I think a lot of people feel like this is a fight that Tony isn’t in deep water like he’s been in his last several fights. I think the matchmaking and the timing on this fight is excellent and couldn’t be more perfect.”
He also added that “You know, if you look at Tony’s last few fights that he’s fought, he looked damn good before the Chandler finish you know, and every fight that he’s fought in the last two of three fights, he looked damn good right up until the end. So it’s a fun, interesting fight with two fun and interesting characters.”
This shows that White believes that Tony Ferguson has still more to offer despite his abysmal streak of results. The 54-year-old defended the matchup between the two as he believes that the fight is going to be a fun and interesting one because of the two characters taking part in it.
Dana White on why Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblett makes sense 👀 pic.twitter.com/nkfW32NQS7
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) September 27, 2023
White emphasized that a defeat against Pimblett would likely mark the end of Ferguson’s career. He said, “I would let Tony make that decision. But I’m sure if he loses to Paddy he would probably look at calling it. He’s had a great career. Done a lot of things, had a lot of big fights, and it’d probably be a wrap for him. Hopefully.”
Even though Ferguson hasn’t had a good run recently in the results department, he still looks to be a formidable force. The 39-year-old has a lot of experience and is still a dangerous man. It is clearly not going to be an easy fight for Pimblett. The fact that Pimblett comes into the fight as a favorite because of his undefeated streak in the UFC, puts him under more pressure to win.
For many, this is a controversial move from the promotion, because of the different positions both men are in right now. But in contrast to this, some have even praised the idea that it will be a good opportunity for Tony Ferguson to get back into the win column after having gone through a tough period in his UFC career recently.