Tony Ferguson found out UFC 249 was off while doing an interview

Tony Ferguson was left in the dark about the UFC’s plan to call off UFC 249 until after it became public.

Ferguson was in the middle of conducting a pre-fight phone interview with the Orange County Register for his now-canceled April 18 bout with Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title when he was informed of the announcement that the card would no longer take place.

The reporter who conducted the interview, Brian Martin, described Ferguson as “in shock” when he found out. A person close to Ferguson told MMA Junkie that his account was accurate.

“Oh wow,” Ferguson said, followed by silence. “Oh, well. I’m still going to train. … I’m sure it’s for a good reason. Let’s be real. I got to keep the faith.”

Ferguson (25-3 MMA, 15-1 UFC) has endured a roller coaster in recent weeks. He originally was supposed to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed 155-pound belt at UFC 249, which was first set for Brooklyn, N.Y. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, and the UFC was forced to scramble for a new location.

Nurmagomedov fell out of the bout in the midst of all this after he returned to his native Russia, and his ability to compete was muzzled by travel restrictions. Gaethje stepped in, and the UFC secured Tachi Palace Casino Resort on tribal land in Lemoore, Calif., to host the card.

The chips started to fall in the days after, though. On Thursday, UFC president Dana White cited the instruction of Disney and ESPN executives for deciding not to proceed with UFC 249. The New York Times subsequently reported that California Gov. Gavin Newsom played a role in postponing the event.

Now the UFC remains in flux. White said he’s targeting events to start back up in roughly one month but provided no assurances. Nurmagomedov won’t be able to fight until late summer at the earliest, though, as he is set to begin observing Ramadan later this month.

That could mean a bit of a wait for Ferguson if he wants a sixth booking against “The Eagle,” but he insisted he will go with the flow in this time of crisis.

“The constant is things are always going to change,” Ferguson said. “The variable is how am I going to react to it? So we could throw that variable, baby, and we make that the constant. Which is why I’m going to keep smiling, I’m gonna keep training, and you know what? I’m gonna put on some muscle. Dude, I’m skinny. I’m gonna put on some muscle.”