Tony Ferguson is no longer ranked in the official UFC lightweight standings.
Ferguson, 38, a former interim lightweight champion, has dropped out of the rankings for the first time in more than seven years. He was replaced by Drew Dober, who scored the bonus-winning knockout of Bobby Green last Saturday at UFC Fight Night 216.
Ferguson entered the UFC Lightweight Championship on February 28, 2015 following a submission victory over Gleason Tibau. He was ranked No. 11 before his upcoming fight with Josh Thomson, which Ferguson won by unanimous decision, later that year.
The victory over Thomson was his sixth in what would become a 12-fight winning streak – including a 2017 interim lightweight title win over Kevin Lee – who was dethroned on May 9, 2020 when he lost by fifth-round TKO to Justin were defeated Gaethje in his second interim title fight.
Since then it has been a tough one for Ferguson (25-8 MMA, 15-6 UFC) as he is currently on a five-fight losing streak. He lost one-sided unanimous decisions to top lightweight contenders Charles Oliveira (prior to his title win) and Benil Darish, before scoring a brutal front-kick knockout in a UFC 274 fight with former 155-pound title challenger Michael Chandler. were suffering from
In his most recent appearance at UFC 279 last September, Ferguson was looking for a new life by going back to welterweight, but was submitted by Nate Diaz in the headliner.
Ferguson, the winner of Season 13 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” was once considered the biggest threat to undefeated former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Despite enduring the toughest times of his career, Ferguson insists he hasn’t stopped fighting.
