Tony Ferguson Slight Favourite To Win in Return to Octagon
Published on May 23rd, 2019 12:07 pm ESTWritten By: Dave Manuel
There will be plenty on the line on Saturday, June 8th as Tony Ferguson steps into the Octagon to take on Donald Cerrone in the co-main event of UFC 238 in Chicago. Donald Cerrone is coming off of a five-round beatdown of Al Iaquinta and is now in the midst of a three-fight winning streak. Anytime that Cerrone seems to finally be slowing down, the "Cowboy" will put together a string of wins to finally win himself in title contention. This has happened yet again, and Cerrone is possibly one more win away from a shot at the title. Cerrone has consecutive victories over Al Iaquinta, Alexander Hernandez and Mike Perry.
Tony Ferguson is in the midst of a long 11-fight winning streak that includes wins over Anthony Pettis, Rafael dos Anjos and Kevin Lee. Ferguson had won the interim title when he defeated Kevin Lee, though the UFC ultimately stripped Ferguson of the title after he injured his leg. This derailed the mythical Ferguson vs Nurmagomedov fight, which seems like it will never happen.
Following his win over Anthony Pettis, Ferguson had some personal issues to deal with. Things seem to have settled down in the life of Tony Ferguson and he is now heading back to the Octagon.
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Both Cerrone and Ferguson are long-time UFC fighters that desperately want a shot at the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Dustin Poirier. Though, there is a distinct possibility that the winner of Cerrone vs Ferguson could find themselves on the sidelines once again if the UFC grants Conor McGregor another shot at the title.
Both of these men will be looking for an emphatic win on June 8th in order to try to earn a title shot. Let's look at the current betting odds for this fight:
Source: Bet365
Time Stamp: May 23rd, 2019 11:43 am EST
Odds Subject to Change
Tony Ferguson, 1.57
Donald Cerrone, 2.50
As you can see, Ferguson is the slight favourite to win this fight, though Cerrone certainly isn't far off.
Both fighters are comfortable on the feet and on the ground. Cerrone needs to avoid getting into a sprint with Ferguson, as Ferguson has some of the best cardio in all of mixed martial arts.
Ferguson needs to brawl with Cerrone and sap his energy with plenty of quick exchanges. Ferguson needs to avoid the leg kicks of Cerrone, and he likely doesn't want to get into a methodical kick-boxing fight.
Cerrone, on the other hand, is likely the better striker and needs to keep it a clean kick-boxing fight. While Cerrone is certainly more than capable on the ground, he likely wants to keep things standing so that he can maintain his energy.
This should be a great fight.
