Daniel Cormier is still skeptical that Tony Ferguson can have a career resurgence.
Ferguson (25-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC), 38, will look to snap a four-fight losing skid when he meets Li Jingliang (19-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) in a welterweight bout in Saturday’s UFC 279 co-main event at T-Mobile Arena.
Ferguson is coming off a brutal front kick knockout loss to Michael Chandler at UFC 274, but looked sharp prior to getting caught. “El Cucuy” made some changes after the Chandler loss by training with Jackson Wink MMA, but Cormier isn’t sure if moving back up to welterweight will help him.
“I want to see something positive. I want to see something change – some changes that he has made since he has been to (Greg) Jackson’s gym, Jackson Wink down in Albuquerque, (N.M.),” Cormier said on his “DC & RC” ESPN show. “So I want to see something different. Here’s the issue for me: When you get knocked out at 155 by Michael Chandler, when you get TKO’d at 155 by Justin Gaethje, when you get dominated by Beneil (Dariush) and Charles Oliveira at 155, it would not seem like going up to welterweight would be the move.
“But if there is a guy that could let go of the past and everything that happened prior to go and try to make a statement, it is Tony Ferguson. But in Li Jingliang, this guy is tough. He hits hard, and this is a very difficult matchup in his first time fighting at welterweight in a long time. So while I’m looking for something positive, I don’t expect all that much as of right now. He’s going to have to show me something.”
Ferguson, who won Season 13 of “The Ultimate Fighter” at welterweight, has had plenty of success at 170 pounds. His opponent Jingliang, still thinks Ferguson is dangerous and won’t be taking him lightly at all despite his recent struggles in the octagon.
UFC 279 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNEWS and early prelims on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 279.
