With every fight, it’s getting obvious we’re not very far from witnessing former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson hanging up his gloves. Although ‘El Cucuy’ has maintained his stance on wanting to continue fighting, his recent performances indicate that his peak days are far gone. 2025 could see the last of ‘El Cucuy’ in the cage. Hence, let us take a look at a few possible contenders for Ferguson’s retirement fight.

During his last outing in Abu Dhabi, Tony Ferguson appeared to have removed his gloves, and when he was asked about possibly calling it a career, the former champion took a long pause and looked around the crowd. Thereafter, he decided to put one glove down and hinted that he could be up for one more fight. Well, Ferguson has been a significant part of the UFC’s rise during the 2010s, so it would be fitting if he bows out of the promotion by fighting another seasoned veteran.

Tony Ferguson vs Jim Miller

One of the longest-tenured fighters in the UFC, Jim Miller, 41, is also nearing the end of his career as per his recent statement. Following his UFC 309 win over Damon Jackson, he completed 45 trips inside the Octagon and registered his 27th win. However, all good things must come to an end and, as such, Miller is looking to make it 50 UFC fights before calling it a career. But he could be persuaded to do one more if Dana White’s ready to hand him a hefty payout.

“The 50 is the hard stop. You guys can hold me to that sh-t. Yeah, 100 percent. 100 percent. Unless, they’re like, ‘A couple million dollars.’ Then, it’s 51,” Jim Miller stated during the post-fight presser. With five fights left in his career, it won’t be a surprise to see him end up fighting Tony Ferguson in one of his future bouts.

Despite being in the same promotion for well over a decade, Tony Ferguson and Jim Miller have never butted heads inside the Octagon. Hence, it would be a perfect first-time clash for the fans to witness with both fighters getting a deserving send-off. The next possible opponent of ‘El Cucuy’, it’s someone that he’s quite familiar with.

Tony Ferguson and Donald Cerrone in a rematch

Donald Cerrone retired in July 2022 after losing out to the aforementioned Jim Miller at UFC 276. In the following year, ‘Cowboy’ was inducted into the Hall of Fame, but it seems he wants to come back as soon as possible. Keeping that in mind, fellow Hall of Famer and former middleweight champion Michael Bisping suggests Cerrone should fight Tony Ferguson in his comeback fight.

“The one matchup that I think most people would sign off on, if he’s even still not retired, it would be a rematch with Tony Ferguson,” Michael Bisping stated on his YouTube channel. The last time Cerrone and Ferguson faced off against each other, the duo put on ‘Fight of the Night’ performances, with Ferguson coming out on top via doctor stoppage. Maybe Cerrone can take his loss back in this proposed rematch.

However, Dana White doesn’t seem to be a fan of this idea and doesn’t want to entertain such discussions. The UFC CEO was hit with the question during a recent press conference, and he just had to say one simple sentence. “Love him. Hate that [he wants to come back]. He’s retired,” White stated during a DWCS presser. Furthermore, the 55-year-old doesn’t see any sense in Donald Cerrone wanting to come back for another fight. He believes that fighters “retire for a reason.”

Well, that fight could be a tough one for Tony Ferguson to get, but there’s one more potential contender for his retirement fight. If you’re wondering who that is, it’s another veteran that Dana White wants to retire.

Tony Ferguson vs Clay Guida

When we talk about long-tenured fighters in the UFC, Clay Guida certainly fits that description because he’s one of the three in that matter. The 41-year-old has been going through a phase similar to Tony Ferguson, as he’s riding on three consecutive losses. After his UFC 310 defeat to Chase Hooper via submission in the very first round, Dana White suggested that he, along with Chris Weidman and Anthony Smith, consider hanging up his gloves.

“They should all retire tonight,” Dana White stated in the post-fight presser. Clay Guida, meanwhile, claims he’ll be back after hearing his employer’s comments, and since he’s going to do that, we could see him fight Tony Ferguson, which will also be a first-time fight for the UFC fans to witness. Moreover, there are quite a few fans on social media who’ve expressed their interest in this fight as well.

So far, we have no idea about what Tony Ferguson is going to do. He mentioned after his last fight that he wants to consult his wife and kids about his next move. But by the looks of it, things could be coming to an end because he’s not even on the rankings list anymore. Hence, it would be great to see Ferguson cap off his career by considering any one of these aforementioned bouts.

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