Tony Ferguson Is The Bogeyman
Tony Ferguson is not only one of the most fearsome fighters on the planet, he’s also one of the most unique. Join me as we take a closer glance at the man the world-renowned as the bogeyman.
“Tony Ferguson was enrolled in athletics since childhood… From football, baseball, wrestling, going on to earn NCAA honours twice, even winning the NCAA national championship… Tony, as it appeared, had a natural aptitude for this world…
Competitive, driven, physically gifted… It was obvious, Tony was a born athlete… But his true gift was not his physical aptitude… I believe It was his father. Building his own gym by hand… Who does that… this is the kind of ethic and ingenuity his father gifted him, thus, when we look at Tony’s style, his drive, inhuman work ethic…
It all makes sense. His unique style, creatively engineered as a composite from decades of athletic experience, paired with breakdance; Tony took his physical self-awareness and with his character crafted a style the martial arts world has never seen… Being disciplined to work hard truly is a gift.
The Courage To Express Yourself
But when you can know yourself, have the courage to express yourself through that awareness, and have the courage to work hard trusting that expression… You truly have something special… And the monster we see today, El Cucuuy is a living testament to just that.
But who would’ve guessed such a man would’ve ever come to fruition… For before it all, like many of us, adult life comes into play… We find ourselves disregarding our passion, adhering to what the societal consensus demands of us, and you know, we do our best to make our lives work…
That’s normal… But it’s interesting… You never know how the chaos of this reality will pan out. Tony was working in sales and marketing, bartending by night, essentially working two jobs to make ends meet… I’m sure at this point his mind was fixated on this path.
But… the calling in your heart always has a way of knocking… knocking on your door, wondering if you have the courage to give it a chance… Tony on his bartending shift was invited to help young mixed martial artists work on their wrestling… He could’ve said he was too busy, he could’ve said he was too tired… but at the pull of his heart, he jumped and the journey of El Cucuuy began…
Stylistic breakdown…
Dan Hardy has compared Tony Ferguson to Jon Jones because they both flow through a creative arsenal executed through the careful, cerebral study of their opponents… Diligent study outside the arena, loose authentic expression of self in… He’s breakdancing, feeling their rhythm, breaking his opponents through free flow…
Tony doesn’t have a fixed style, because truly, he’s strong everywhere, like water he just fills the cup and leaves it as the moment calls; who knows what he’s going to do next… preparing for such a style must be an absolute nightmare…
The constant stance switches, durability, weird movement & taunts, unorthodox techniques… He’s just one of those guys you can’t copy… he’s just too authentic to be replicated. He said he wanted to be an OG, but he’s already original.
Mental Game
Tony Ferguson is an absolute alpha, confident… dominant in mental exchanges, composed, yet a high IQ problem solver all the same… He at times rubs people the wrong way because the man does not have a sense of ease to him… His intensity makes him appear forced, but that same intensity is perhaps one of his greatest strengths; it is the shadow of his work ethic… In the arena, his composure is legendary, he refuses to falter, show any glint of weakness, mentally always trying to find an edge whilst ensure he himself is composed.
Lets now glance at a few moments where these elements were truly highlighted
From here, Kevin lee in full mount, if you slow it down you can see that almost none of these strikes connected… tony in this position is being whaled on, but he sees the shots coming in and for the most part, rolls, blocks, deflects them, effectively wasting Kevin’s energy. he even positions himself to slip this, and when the bell rings, notice how tony is laughing, smiling, taunting Kevin from the ground up…
And look at Kevin’s reaction, he’s pissed… If you think about what just happened, Kevin has a staph infection, he’s heavily muscled, and overall you could tell, he was desperately trying to gain something from his dominant position, but really, even if it may have looked like he was winning, Kevin’s gas tank took a hit whilst tony indicates he’s perfectly fine…
This is the kind of mentality Tony has. Regardless of how desperate, dangerous, dire the situation is; having A monstrous athlete like Kevin whale on you from the top, he didn’t let the pressure get to him, he remained composed, focused on the moment, focused on what he has to do next… This perfectly highlights how mentally strong tony is.”
Music:
- Sappheiros – Memories
- [Chill] RTIK – lone voices
- Forgotten Instrumental Piano Hip Hop