‘I Don’t Want To Retire’

Tony Ferguson isn’t going down without a fight.

The former interim lightweight champion, mired in a dreadful six-fight losing streak, will look to make his triumphant return to the win column when he collides with 155-pound rising star Paddy Pimblett as part of the UFC 296 pay-per-view (PPV) event in Las Vegas.

UFC CEO Dana White is ready to release “El Cucuy” in defeat.

“I don’t want to retire, it’s not in my f*cking thought process,” Ferguson told ESPN. “It’s not about getting cut. It’s not about doing all this stuff. It’s about competing. And what I did was I started competing without; one—having fun, and two—really giving 100 percent into my training. I thought I did, but that means I have to be coachable. I have to be a student again. I have to ask for help.”

A victory over Pimblett would no doubt give Ferguson, 39, a second lease on his combat sports life. Not surprisingly, “El Cucuy” already has post-Pimblett plans, which include a longstanding rivalry opposite former lightweight champion Conor McGregor (also known as Connie McNuggets).

“Going after Khabib for a long time and going after ‘McNuggets,’ this is about as close as it’s going to get for right now,” the 25-9 Ferguson continued. “So as soon as we get through this dude, we’ll go after Conor if he’ll sign on the dotted line and get through USADA. I’m not even close to being done. What it’s going to take is a great team that got me to my championship belt, my interim belt. I had a great team. But holding on to certain things can sometimes be very detrimental to yourself, which sometimes you just got to let go and hold onto the things that hold onto you very tight. And that goes faith, family, and friends.”

To see who else is fighting at UFC 296 click here.