Tony Ferguson says he’s not ‘f*cking around anymore’ ahead of UFC 296 (Video)

Tony Ferguson will be remembered in UFC folklore forever. Despite some controversy throughout his career, Ferguson has been a fan favorite for the last decade. At UFC 296, Ferguson gets to prove why this training camp helped him become a new man.

"I'm not here to f**** have fun," he said during his UFC 296 media day. "I might have done that before. Taking some chances. Giving these fighters an alley-oop to where they're at right now. I'm not f**** around anymore. I can prove that through my team...If you're not my wife, or my kids, or my team, I'm going to say f*** off. I'm here until after the fight, then I'll be nice."

Ferguson always understood how important the mental aspect of professional fighting can be. He has always been criticized for his unorthodox regiments and techniques but it's always hard to argue with the results. This training camp was no different for Ferguson, but he seems to be in the right place ahead of UFC 296.

Tony Ferguson reacts to David Goggins controversy

Ferguson made social media headlines after training with David Goggins ahead of his fight. Goggins is widely known for his mental toughness and training regiments. While Ferguson remains candid about his reasons to work with Goggins, he was vocal about his experience during training camp.

"I needed it. I haven't had somebody push me like that. Not float my balloon any higher than it needed to be. I needed to throw up. I needed to get yelled at. I needed to go through that f*** hell. It was not easy."

Ferguson understands that time is not on his side and he had to break some barriers during training camp. He mentioned the "mental, physical and emotional" experience with Goggins and it seems to have helped. There is a new version of Ferguson on the horizon and, win or lose, the MMA community is excited to see Ferguson back in the octagon.