UFC lightweight contender Tony Ferguson is happy that he took time to train with David Goggins.
‘El Cucuy’ is currently slated to return to the octagon this Saturday night at UFC 296. There, Tony Ferguson is expected to meet the rising Paddy Pimblett. ‘The Baddy’ enters the matchup undefeated in the UFC, last defeating Jared Gordon by decision last December.
Ahead of the lightweight bout, the former interim champion has been training with David Goggins. The former Navy Seal and long-distance runner is known for his absolutely brutal training regimen. In the build to UFC 296, he put Tony Ferguson through a week of training known simply as “Hell Week”.
Many, including Paddy Pimblett himself, wondered if the move was the correct one. Save for a few names such as Joe Rogan, most blasted the training arrangement. However, at UFC 296 media day earlier this week, Tony Ferguson stated that he couldn’t be happier with the experience. Nonetheless, he also admitted that training with David Goggins was one of the toughest things that he’s ever done.
That means a lot coming from a man with the mindset and toughness that Tony Ferguson possesses. Despite how hard the training was, however, ‘El Cucuy’ valued his time with David Goggins.
Image via: @tonyfergusonxt on Instagram
Tony Ferguson discusses training with David Goggins at UFC 296 media day
“S*it. The reality part of it was that it was hard as f*ck.” Tony Ferguson responded to a question about training with David Goggins ahead of his UFC 296 return opposite Paddy Pimblett. “One of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life [but] I’m glad I did it. To be real, I didn’t know what chief was about. I really didn’t. But I kept in really close contact with him, I knew that I needed to do it. I showed up no questions asked, no bulls*it.”
He continued discussing the training, “It was always ‘Yes sir, yes coach’, and didn’t matter what time it was. Or what we had to do, no questions. No ‘How many are we doing?’, no ‘How long are we going to go?’ no whatever. I was saying to my team, the only question I had was looking at the menu. Like, what can I eat to keep the food down? Because I was throwing everything up that week and once that bulls*it stopped, it didn’t for a while. It was just the biggest mental hurdle, alley-oop that I’ve needed to get my s*it together.”
Tony Ferguson concluded, “I’m very glad for it. Now, it’s very cool because we went to training at the compound and I felt right at home… It’s cool to see chief, and I’m f*cking excited because I did all the work man.”
What do you make of these comments about David Goggins? Do you believe Tony Ferguson will upset Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296 this Saturday? Or will ‘The Baddy’ stay undefeated in the promotion?
