In the calm before the storm, ‘El Cucuy’ prepares for ‘Showtime’ on the blockbuster card taking place in Las Vegas.
Steven Marrocco has revealed yet another addition to the UFC 229 fight card. Tony Ferguson returns with a clean bill of health against a rebounding Anthony “Showtime” Pettis, who is coming off a Round 2 submission win over Michael Chiesa. Hoping to climb back up the rankings, he faces his toughest opponent yet.
‘El Cucuy’ was gone on medical leave after suffering a critical injury days before UFC 223. Since then, the 35-year old has been keeping busy in the gym and on social media, showing his supporters the successful surgery, and the continuation of his unique training regimen.
Before the confirmation, Ferguson dropped a cryptic clue on Twitter, showing him training and talking about training for “three opponents”. Speculation rose among the MMA community about whom he will face, assuming he fought this year.
Coincidentally, The match between him and Pettis is the only other lightweight bout on the Las Vegas card besides the main event between Conor Mcgregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Looking at the fight line-up there’s something peculiar about the lightweight fighter choice. Other than the facts that all four have held UFC gold and all four could be considered special fighters with a steady fanbase, all four have demonstrated that they are capable of capturing the lightweight belt. That is why it doesn’t seem out of turn to suggest that the newly made lightweight match competitors are potential replacements for one of the two main eventers.
Now, could Tony just be saying “I’m training “for 3 opponents” as a way of showing how hard he’s pushing for the UFC 229 and there’s no implication? Absolutely.
But in the most ironic scenario, if Tony is primed and ready and either Khabib or Conor fail to make it to the octagon, Ferguson can take their place and steal the show.
Here’s another scenerio to consider: Anthony Pettis is making a comeback to show that he still has the ability to make it into title contention. The former champion wants to step up to the new lightweight competition and prove himself to the fans and the rest of the MMA world that he still what his moniker implies. To go back to UFC 223, “Ragin” Al Iaquinta was only ranked 12th when he faced Khabib. Earning the 10th rank spot from Chiesa, he has just as much a chance to be picked as a replacement for the mainevent.
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