Michael Chiesa thinks Tony Ferguson can satisfy his competitive drive in ways other than MMA.
Ferguson (25-11 MMA, 15-9 UFC) suffered a UFC record eighth consecitve loss when he was submitted in the first round by Chiesa at UFC on ABC 7. Ferguson laid down one glove after the loss but appeared to walk back any retirement talk.
Ferguson hopes the UFC remains his home, even though Dana White has urged him to retire on numerous occasions. Like White, Chiesa (17-7 MMA, 12-7 UFC) thinks “El Cucuy” should no longer be fighting.
“I hope he just stops competing,” Chiesa told BJPenn.com. “Maybe if he wants to scratch that itch and compete in jiu-jitsu, I’m sure there are a lot of jiu-jitsu promotions that would pay Tony a lot of money to grapple. I just don’t want to see him take any headshots anymore. That is speaking to a brother that I’m in the same fraternity with.
“Him and I both won ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ I say that with compassion. You can still make money and compete in jiu-jitsu, but I don’t think it’s a financial thing for Tony. I think he’s just a fierce competitor. The guy likes to compete. He’s very athletic. I just don’t think he should be taking shots anymore.”
Chiesa opted to hand Ferguson the microphone after his win, considering that it may have likely been his final moment in the octagon.
“It’s one of those things. I don’t have anything, so let him have his moment. It’s on ABC,” Chiesa said. “While some people might have thought I should have taken my time and been a bit more selfish, I disagree. I consider myself to be in the same fraternity as Tony Ferguson.
“We both have that common ground that not many other fighters have, so I just felt like it was time to let him have his moment. I’m pretty sure that’s the last time we’ll see him in the UFC. The only way you want to keep him in the UFC is to protect him from the people outside the UFC that are going to try and sign him.”
