LOS ANGELES – Brandon Gibson still plans on being a part of Tony Ferguson’s camps moving forward.
The renowned striking coach, who works with the likes of former UFC light heavyweight king Jon Jones and top prospect Aaron Pico, trained Ferguson in the lead-up to his fight at UFC 279 earlier this month.
Gibson helped Ferguson (25-8 MMA, 15-6 UFC) prepare for a three-round fight against Li Jingliang, but a last-second switch-up resulted in Ferguson facing Nate Diaz in a five-round bout. He was submitted in Round 4.
“We were just speaking today, and I look forward to seeing him out in Albuquerque, (N.M.),” Gibson told MMA Junkie. “If I get a moment to step away from Pico this week (at Bellator 286), I would be totally down to link up with Tony and get some work in. Tony has a great team around him, and that week, I think we developed an even stronger relationship. So I look forward to taking that next step together.”
Although Ferguson didn’t get his hand raised, Gibson liked what he saw out of “El Cucuy,” who wasn’t deterred at all after suffering his fifth straight setback.
“All the respect to Diaz – he’s a game fighter. He was prepared for a five-round fight,” Gibson said. “Tony was scrappy in there. I think he had some really good moments – there was a lot of back and forth. I think Tony was able to show his toughness, his grit that he always has in fights. It was good to see him in there with another veteran, another OG, and obviously I wish that we would have had a different result. But all respect to Diaz.
“I would like to see Tony up against some other vets. I like him fighting some of these more tenured fighters. I’m sure Tony can continue to make 155 no problem, and if he stays at 170, I think there’s some room for growth like in his strength, his size and have a longer camp to really prepare for an opponent than one day.”
