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UFC dream fights vol.7: Conor McGregor v Tony Ferguson

In the seventh in our series on UFC dream match-ups, we take a look at Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson.

By Peter Hanson
Ferguson vs McGregor

Las Vegas, April 9: Tony Ferguson may have been frustratingly made to wait to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov once again but he is not the only man UFC fans are longing for him to face and the prospect of a showdown with Conor McGregor is enticing.

Khabib was supposed to defend his lightweight strap against Ferguson in a huge fight in Brooklyn this month, only for the coronavirus pandemic to put paid to the bout.

It was the fifth time the two have had a scheduled fight cancelled and Ferguson will instead face Justin Gaethje at a venue yet to be decided.

Should Ferguson win that fight a long-awaited date with Khabib must surely happen but you would expect at some point he will dance with the big-talking McGregor as well.

In the seventh instalment of the UFC dream fights we would love to see, we delve further into the records of Ferguson and McGregor.

WHY DO WE WANT TO SEE THIS FIGHT?

The lightweight division is one of the most congested in UFC in terms of top-level fighters and Ferguson has long-since sought a huge bout with Khabib or McGregor.

None of the three men have ever ducked a challenge and with McGregor having reignited his love of the fight game there would be few trickier tests than Ferguson.

Khabib is the man to topple at 145lbs right now, but McGregor versus Ferguson is certainly a fight that would get tails wagging.

GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS

McGregor is a Hall of Fame shoo-in and a man who is credited with elevating UFC to new levels.

The Irishman is a trailblazer in MMA and knocked out the fearsome Jose Aldo to win the featherweight title in 2015, just a year later he was a class above Eddie Alvarez to secure the lightweight strap – thus becoming the first man in UFC history to hold two belts in two weight divisions simultaneously.

Rafael dos Anjos, Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone – who McGregor defeated in his latest comeback – are among the names to have fallen to Ferguson.

In October 2017, Ferguson beat Kevin Lee in an interim lightweight title bout.

WHAT'S THEIR MMA RECORD (W-L-D)?

McGregor: 22-4-0

Ferguson: 26-3-0

TALE OF THE TAPE

McGregor:

Age: 31

Height: 5' 9" (175 cm)

Weight: 155 lbs (70 kg)

Reach 74"

Leg Reach: 40"

Ferguson:

Age: 36

Height: 5'11" (180cm)

Weight: 155lbs (70kg)

Reach: 76"

Leg Reach: 40"

WHAT THEY'VE SAID ABOUT A POTENTIAL FIGHT

"One thing I can tell you is that I have never backed down from fighting anyone, anywhere, and that holds true today," McGregor replied when asked about fighting the winner of Khabib-Ferguson, prior to the fight's cancellation, last month.

"Nobody else deserves that a** whopping [other than] two people: that's McNuggets and Team Tiramisu. That is Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor," Ferguson may be fighting Gaethje but, after Khabib pulled out of UFC 249, he was clear on the two opponents he wants to face.

FIGHT STATS IN UFC

McGregor:

- McGregor has a 49 per cent significant strike success rate. Out of 1,110 such attempts, 543 have landed. 77 per cent of these strikes come from a standing position, with 13 per cent from the ground.

- The Irishman averages 5.43 significant strikes landed per minute and absorbs 4.4.

- In defence, McGregor has avoided 55 per cent of significant strikes, and seen off 70 per cent of takedown attempts.

- The majority of McGregor's attempts are to the head, with 383 (71 per cent) landed in that area, compared to 92 (17 per cent) and 68 (13 per cent) to the body and legs.

Ferguson:

- Ferguson has connected with 936 of his 2065 attempted significant strikes.

- That gives him a significant strikes success rate of 45 per cent.

- He has attempted 90 per cent of his strikes from a standing position.

- In terms of defence, Ferguson has guarded against 75 per cent of takedown attempts and avoided 64 per cent of strikes.

Story first published: Thursday, April 9, 2020, 8:21 [IST]
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