Tony Ferguson Bags 3X More Than Khabib’s Cousin in Payout As Dana White Hands Out Compliance Pay for UFC Abu Dhabi

UFC Abu Dhabi saw Tony Ferguson script an unwanted piece of history. His defeat at the hands of Michael Chiesa in the first round was his eight-consecutive loss in the octagon, surpassing the previous record of seven by BJ Penn. On the other end of the spectrum, Umar Nurmagomedov registered his sixth successive win in the UFC. But when it comes to the money both fighters made from the night, Ferguson is ahead by miles.

The 40-year-old looked to get back to winning ways against Chiesa but the fight ended after ‘El Cucuy’ tapped out in the first round. This was followed by the former UFC interim champion’s gesture that raised questions about his future in the octagon.

While the night seemed to be a tough one, the former interim champion had something to cherish about. He took away $21,000 under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance Pay.

Under the UFC compliance rules, the fighters are paid based on their total number of doubts. It also considers Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Ferguson is a veteran of the sport and has featured in more than 21 fights as a result walked out with $21000 after the night. While he failed to impress many with his performance, his dedication to the sport was rewarded on Saturday night.

The main event fight saw Umar Nurmagomedov in a clash against Cory Sandhagen. The cousin of UFC great Khabib Nurmagomedov, aptly named the ‘Young Eagle’ walked into the fight with an unbeaten record of 17-0 in his MMA career. What followed was a masterclass from the Dagestani fighter. The 28-year-old kept his winning momentum going and has now become the number-one contender for the bantamweight title. Despite this, Nurmagomedov made only $6000 on the night.

A reason for Nurmagomedov’s low compliance pay compared to Ferguson is due to the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance tier payout. The fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts. Apart from this their Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later) are also considered.

According to the tier system, fighters with 6-10 bouts get $7,000 while those with 21 or more bouts earn $21,000. Considering this was Umar’s sixth UFC fight, his compliance pay of $6000 falls in the appropriate bracket.

While Ferguson made three times more than the #10 ranked bantamweight fighter, there is a drastic difference in their careers at the moment. The 28-year-old is now chasing the title, Ferguson on the other hand could consider retiring from the sport. At, 40, Ferguson is way past his prime and is finding it tough in the sport.

Ferguson started off the fight looking solid for a couple of minutes, but soon Chiesa was on top. Once “Maverick” started wrestling, Ferguson had no answers and had to submit in the first round. After the fight, Chiesa was thankful to end his own losing streak of three fights, with this being his first win since 2019. But he acknowledged that Ferguson was the center of attention on this occasion. He said,

“It feels really good and there is so much stuff I want to say. It has been such a long road to get back to the Octagon but this microphone belongs to Tony Ferguson.”

However, despite removing his gloves after his defeat, a symbolic gesture of calling it a day, Ferguson remained defiant and didn’t officially announce his retirement.

Tony Ferguson reluctant to call it quits on his illustrious career

Tony Ferguson was once considered the boogeyman of the lightweight division. The 40-year-old once held a 12-fight winning streak between 2013-2019. However, things have taken a complete turn for him. Rumors suggest that Dana White might consider removing him from the UFC forcing him to retire from the sport. However, the competitive spirit still prevails in the 40-year-old and he is yet to call it quits.

During the post-fight press conference, Ferguson seemed highly dejected with the loss. He then pointed out as to how he is considering coaching as the next option, but he still believes he can fight at the highest level. While speaking to the reporters he pointed out as to why he left just one glove inside the Octagon. ‘

El Cucuy’ said, “I’m kind of like on that verge of coaching but I’m kind of like no. I still want to fight, I still want to compete, and I still want to do this, I want to do a whole bunch of stuff. If I didn’t have the love both those gloves would have been left in that f**king ring.”

As a professional fighter calling it a day is one of the toughest things for any individual. However, with age catching up to the 40-year-old legend we might just have witnessed his last fight on Saturday.

Do you think Tony Ferguson will retire from the sport next? Let us know in the comments below.