Daniel Cormier is unsure if former Navy SEAL David Goggins will be able to help Tony Ferguson turn things around.
Ferguson (25-9 MMA, 15-7 UFC), who’s on a six-fight losing skid, has sought help from Goggins for his upcoming fight vs. Paddy Pimblett (20-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC) on Dec. 16 at UFC 296.
Ferguson, 39, has been known for his durability and cardio. Cormier appreciates Ferguson’s work ethic but thinks it’ll take more than intense cardio training for him to rebound.
“I tap in on making sure you leave no stone unturned,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC.” “Great call by the former interim champion. He wants to try and see if it’s going to change something for him. He’s going to be in shape, but I don’t know if the cardio is going to be the issue. That’s not what’s wrong with Tony Ferguson.
“It’s not that he’s not preparing himself right. It’s just other things, other reasons why he’s losing, and I don’t know if David Goggins is going to be able to change that. The weathering and the beatings that you take in that octagon can’t be fixed just by mental approach and working harder in the gym. It just takes something a little bit more.”
Goggins has posted multiple videos where he’s pushing Ferguson in training, to a point where “El Cucuy” was seen hurling. Cormier is concerned with how far Ferguson is being pushed.
“Also, I worry Goggins works so hard he don’t care how you’re feeling,” Cormier continued. “He’s going to make you work. I hope he doesn’t beat Tony down and overtrain him.”
Goggins raved about Ferguson completing his “Hell Week” and fired back at those critiquing his training methods.
“Rather than trying to find flaw in the methodology, try finding inspiration in watching someone searching their soul for every last bit of themselves!
I have been a high-level endurance athlete for almost 20 years and trained some of the best athletes around and what we are doing right now is not for the faint of heart.
When you train a person like Tony, you have to find their limit and once you find it, that is when you have to push them way beyond it. The challenge with Tony is that his limit is way the fuck out there because of his ability to handle so much pain.
What you are seeing in this video is a man that has been through 4 days of a no-sh*t hell week. This isn’t like a football two-a-days or some wrestling camp bullsh*t.
I see the comments that Tony should be sparring or be on the bag rather than doing this kind of cardio.
I can tell that the vast majority of you have no idea what the f*ck you are talking about.
To have the guts- and I mean guts- to allow a motherfucker like me to train him shows exactly his commitment to come back and win again.
Many of you have no idea what it does to a human being’s mind when their body keeps saying to stop but their mind will not allow them to!!!!
There is a lesson to be learned here. He’s comfortable with you all seeing what he is going through because this is the exact kind of dedication it takes to reach greatness. Hard work is never pretty!
This is why it is so foreign to some of you. Watching a person work this hard and striving for greatness scares a lot of you. It’s ok. It used to scare me too.
I used to be one of those guys making stupid comments about the ones who wanted it like there was no tomorrow.
Stay hard!”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.
