66 Facts About Tony Ferguson

Anthony Armand Ferguson Padilla was born on February 12,1984 and is an American professional mixed martial artist.

Tony Ferguson currently competes in the Welterweight division of the Global Fight League.

Tony Ferguson is trained in freestyle wrestling, boxing, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, and Wing Chun.

Tony Ferguson was born in Oxnard, California, on February 12,1984, but grew up mainly in Muskegon, Michigan.

Tony Ferguson was a three-sport athlete at Muskegon Catholic Central High School in American football, baseball, and wrestling.

Tony Ferguson was the starting defensive back for the 2000 Division 8 state football champions and was a three-time All-State selection in wrestling, winning the 152-lb division in 2002.

Tony Ferguson did not complete his degree, but had a successful collegiate wrestling career, winning the 2006 National Collegiate Wrestling Association national wrestling championship in the 165-lb division.

Tony Ferguson began his professional MMA career fighting in small organizations around California in 2007.

Tony Ferguson applied to compete in the UFC's reality series The Ultimate Fighter multiple times.

Tony Ferguson competed as a welterweight on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs Team dos Santos.

Tony Ferguson was selected as the third pick for Team Lesnar.

Tony Ferguson next faced Ryan McGillivray in the quarterfinals and won by a TKO in the first round.

Tony Ferguson then faced Chuck O'Neil in the semifinals and won by TKO in the third round to advance to the final.

Tony Ferguson officially made his UFC debut at the Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale against Ramsey Nijem to determine the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 13.

Tony Ferguson defeated Nijem by knockout in the first round to win a UFC contract.

Tony Ferguson received a $40,000 Knockout of the Night bonus.

Tony Ferguson then faced MMA veteran Yves Edwards at the Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale.

Tony Ferguson was expected to face Dennis Hallman on May 5,2012, at UFC on Fox: Diaz vs Miller.

Tony Ferguson won by D'Arce choke submission in the first round.

Tony Ferguson faced Katsunori Kikuno on May 24,2014, at UFC 173.

Tony Ferguson won the fight by knockout in the first round.

Tony Ferguson was expected to face Danny Castillo on August 2,2014, at UFC 176.

Tony Ferguson faced Abel Trujillo on December 6,2014, at UFC 181.

Tony Ferguson won the bout in the second round by submission.

Tony Ferguson was expected to face Yancy Medeiros on February 28,2015, at UFC 184.

Tony Ferguson won the fight by submission in the first round which earned him a Performance of the Night bonus.

Tony Ferguson faced Josh Thomson on July 15,2015, at UFC Fight Night 71.

Tony Ferguson won the fight via unanimous decision and earned his second straight Performance of the Night bonus.

Tony Ferguson was expected to face Khabib Nurmagomedov on December 11,2015, at the Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale.

Tony Ferguson earned his third consecutive Performance of the Night bonus as well as a Fight of the Night bonus.

Tony Ferguson was expected to face Michael Chiesa on July 13,2016, at UFC Fight Night 91.

Tony Ferguson won his second straight fight via D'Arce choke and was awarded another Fight of the Night bonus.

Tony Ferguson fought former champion Rafael dos Anjos on November 5,2016, at the Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale.

Tony Ferguson faced Kevin Lee on October 7,2017, at UFC 216 for the interim UFC Lightweight Championship.

Tony Ferguson won the bout by triangle choke submission in the third round.

Tony Ferguson faced Anthony Pettis on October 6,2018, at UFC 229.

Tony Ferguson won the bout via corner stoppage after two rounds.

Tony Ferguson next faced Donald Cerrone on June 8,2019, at UFC 238.

Tony Ferguson was scheduled to face Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC Lightweight Championship on April 18,2020, at UFC 249, however the fight was canceled after Nurmagomedov was unable to leave Russia due to restricted air travel as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tony Ferguson then agreed to compete for the Interim UFC Lightweight Championship against a late replacement in Justin Gaethje at the event.

Tony Ferguson was outstruck by Gaethje for all five rounds, eventually losing the fight via TKO in the fifth round.

Tony Ferguson faced Charles Oliveira on December 12,2020, at UFC 256.

Tony Ferguson lost the fight via unanimous decision after being dominated and controlled on the ground for most of the fight.

Tony Ferguson faced Beneil Dariush on May 15,2021, at UFC 262.

Tony Ferguson lost the fight via unanimous decision being controlled on the ground for the majority of the fight.

Tony Ferguson faced former Bellator Lightweight Champion Michael Chandler on May 7,2022 at UFC 274.

Tony Ferguson was scheduled to return to the welterweight division to face Li Jingliang on September 10,2022, in the co-main event of UFC 279.

However, Tony Ferguson instead moved up to the main event to face Nate Diaz, after his original opponent Khamzat Chimaev was pulled from their fight due to missing weight.

Tony Ferguson lost the fight via a guillotine choke submission in the fourth round.

Tony Ferguson returned to the lightweight division to face Bobby Green at UFC 291 on July 29,2023.

Tony Ferguson lost the fight via technical submission due to an arm-triangle choke in the final seconds of the third round.

Tony Ferguson faced Paddy Pimblett on December 16,2023, at UFC 296.

Tony Ferguson faced Michael Chiesa in a welterweight bout on August 3,2024 at UFC on ABC 7.

Tony Ferguson lost the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

On January 24,2025, it was announced that Tony Ferguson had parted ways with the UFC and signed with the Global Fight League.

Tony Ferguson was drafted by the GFL's Team Los Angeles the same day his signing was announced.

Tony Ferguson was scheduled to face Dillon Danis on May 25,2025 at GFL 2.

In March 2019, Cristina filed a restraining order against Tony Ferguson, alleging uncharacteristic behavior such as severe paranoia, not sleeping for days, tearing apart their home fireplace, and believing that a tracking chip was inserted into his leg during reconstructive knee surgery.

Tony Ferguson did not allege physical abuse, and filed the restraining order as a precautionary measure to get him help for his mental state.

Tony Ferguson was taken into custody and booked into the LAPD Hollywood police station where his bail was set at $30,000.

Tony Ferguson was later released from custody on a personal recognizance bond.

Tony Ferguson is known for his unorthodox striking, exceptional cardio, sharp elbows, and proficiency in D'Arce chokes.

Tony Ferguson's aggressive fighting style, particularly his use of elbows, often left opponents bloodied and contributed to six "Fight of the Night" bonuses.

Tony Ferguson is known as one of MMA's most eccentric personalities.

Tony Ferguson constructed his own custom training apparatus at his house in Big Bear Lake, California and regularly posts videos of his unique workouts on his personal Instagram page.

Tony Ferguson has written on his Twitter account that he eschews sparring in training as he "finds it limits my creativity" when fighting.