Tony has huge balls to face Pettis when he could have waited for the Conor/Khabib winner.

[LouisBolanos]

UFC is pretty decent at giving promised title shots. That is unless you do some thing to weaken your claim, like take a fight and lose before you get it. If i were playing smart, id take the chance of them holding their promise, rather than risk it any more by taking a fight I could possibly lose and giving them more leverage to pass over me for the Nate/Porier winner.

The UFC has let Conor sit out for years without defending anything. With Conor in the mix and GSP and Nate waiting on the sides, all bets are off. Tony has a far better chance at getting that title shot by being on the same card in case one of the main eventer drop out, than sitting out on his ass not doing anything.

 

[revoltub]

The UFC has let Conor sit out for years without defending anything. With Conor in the mix and GSP and Nate waiting on the sides, all bets are off. Tony has a far better chance at getting that title shot by being on the same card in case one of the main eventer drop out, than sitting out on his ass not doing anything.

No they didn't. Both of his belts were stripped. What are you talking about?

 

[LouisBolanos]

No they didn't. Both of his belts were stripped. What are you talking about?

Stripped after how long? How long do you want Tony to sit out for a LW title shot, 1 year after the Khabib vs. Conor fight when they finally strip Conor? And if winner of Conor vs. Khabib wants GSP or Nate as their first defense, you think UFC will say no and force them to fight Tony? What are YOU talking about?

Tony has no guarantees whatsoever. Both Conor and Khabib have far better alternatives in terms of exposure and money. The Khabib vs. Tony fight in particular has fallen through 4 times, the UFC will not make it again unless absolutely necessary. Tony's best bet to the title by far is to get on the same card as insurance policy.

 

[revoltub]

Stripped after how long? How long do you want Tony to sit out for a LW title shot, 1 year after the Khabib vs. Conor fight when they finally strip Conor? And if winner of Conor vs. Khabib wants GSP or Nate as their first defense, you think UFC will say no and force them to fight Tony?

Tony has no guarantees whatsoever, his best bet to the title by far is to get on the same card and stay active.

You said Conor wasn't punished for sitting out...yes he was, he lost his titles.

BUT hes getting a shot vs khabib because the last fight he had in the UFC he won the LW title in dominant fashion. He had a claim to the title and the UFC respected it. Just like they respected Woodleys. If Conor took another fight and lost, he wouldn't get the shot.

Ortega said himself he didnt take the stephens fight because he didn't want to give the ufc an excuse to not give him a title shot.

 

[LouisBolanos]

You said Conor wasn't punished for sitting out...yes he was, he lost his titles.

No I didn't, I said the UFC has let Conor sit out for years without defending anything, which they have. The fact that they eventually stripped him after all that time is another matter altogether. The bottom line is he held on to the LW title for well over a year, and he could do it again if he wanted. WTF do you want Tony to do, sit out for another year in case Conor doesn't want to fight?

BUT hes getting a shot vs khabib because the last fight he had in the UFC he won the LW title in dominant fashion. He had a claim to the title and the UFC respected it. Just like they respected Woodleys. If Conor took another fight and lost, he wouldn't get the shot.

Nobody gives a shit what Tony deserves, he has no power to dictate any terms. When he pulled out of the Khabib fight they stripped his ass almost immediately, while Conor was able to keep the belt for how long?

If Conor wins he'll get whoever he wants. If Khabib wins he can call out GSP for a fight since that's the fight he's always wanted more than anything.

Ortega said himself he didnt take the stephens fight because he didn't want to give the ufc an excuse to not give him a title shot.

The FW situation is nothing like LW. There isn't a megastar who can dictate terms at FW. There isn't another big money fight for Holloway at FW. Holloway vs. Ortega hasn't fallen through 4 times.

 

[avillafilms]

Easy win for ferg. Still risky nothing is 100%.

 

[Rvd Slmr]

And lol at people thinking either conor or khabib will duck Tony

The risk is not necessarily about a pure duck, but you can't really expect either winner to be super active and ready to fight right away. At the Conor/Khabib fight, it will be almost exactly one year after Tony's last fight. Throw in another six months for negotiations/injuries before the next defense, and Ferguson won't have been paid in 18 months.

 

[chukutee]

balls to face

 

[Scurvydawg]

Gotta get paid somehow. He aint no spring chicken no more.

Can't wait on those two dolts. We don't know what the heck Khaboob or Conrad have planned. Almost guaranteed though the winner has dumb shit planned. Some GSP superfight , Retirement or a nice long vacation spending all that money. The UFC will choose the superfight over Tony any day of the week. Could be waiting for nothing ...

Also don't think Pettis is a threat at all to El Cucey. 3 wins in his last 8 and Chiesa is the biggest name. Cmon now. He is pretty washed. Can't even manage two wins in a row since like 2013- 2014. This is probably the least balsey fight he could have hoped for. The Pettis of 6 years ago is not the Pettis of 2018. He is borderline can. It is a total miss match.

Don't be surprised if the Boogeyman eats his face off and retires Pettis. Styles and shit only matter if you still have any to begin with. Pettis lost his mojo ages ago. Occasionally he shows glimpses of his former self but then chokes..He is a dead man. Counting down his days to the end now.

 

[snackgod]

Pettis is not a guy who is a guaranteed win. And I think he gives Tony problems stylistically.

Tony was HOURS away from a khabib title fight. Would anyone blame him for sitting out and waiting for the title shot he earned?

if after khabib pulled out vs tony the ufc forced khabib to fight Edison so I bet the ufc said tony had to fight as well.

 

[chaos_36]

It is a high risk, low reward fight for him.

But we know the REAL reason he is taking that fight.

UFC 229.

He is anticipating one of the main carders to not make it to the cage.

INSTANT title shot.

Yeah definitely seems like this is the line of thinking for Tony. Pretty good strategy if you ask me.

 

[youllneverwalkalone]

Tony must proof to himself that he is 100% on top. A fight with Pettis will be determining for him.

Agree. Plus, by fighting on the same card he has a small of chance of late-replacing Conor or Khabib, and at the very least of locking a TS in case he beats Pettis.

 

[imarayda]

Tony will never get a shot a McGregor or khabib