"I’m the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be.”  In what is proving to be a growing list of journalistic accomplishments from the MMA Press Room that without question sets us apart from the rest of the pack as the finest news organization in the industry today, our enormous influence and deep insight into world of combat sports is proving to be as equally elite as it is prophetic in scope. “At UFC 262, Tony Ferguson looked to be far removed from the 12-bout winning streak he authored from 2013 to 2019,” writes author Tristen Critchfield in his May 16, 2021 Sherdog.com article titled, “Dana White: Time, Accumulated Damage has ‘Definitely Hit’ Tony Ferguson.” According to the report, “Ferguson took a tremendous amount of damage in the interim lightweight title (match) against Gaethje at UFC 249 in May 2020 and he hasn’t been the same since.”

“It could be (the Gaethje fight), it could just be, just, time gets us all,” reasoned UFC president Dana White at the UFC 262 post-fight press conference this past Saturday night.

Not mentioned in the Sherdog.com report is the fact Ferguson famously cut quite a bit of weight in a truly short period of time just weeks before the Gaethje fight actually took place, a fact which needs to be put into perspective considering Ferguson would have in fact made the UFC 155-pound championship weight limit not once, but twice in short order before succumbing to the 5th round TKO stoppage loss at the hands of Justin Gaethje.

“Tony Ferguson will not fight Khabib Nurmagomedov or Justin Gaethje on Saturday night as was originally planned. But the UFC lightweight star says he still did a full weight cut and stepped on a scale Friday morning,” writes ESPN.com’s Marc Raimondi in his April 17, 2020 article titled, "Tony Ferguson cuts 24 pounds in 1 week despite canceled fight.” According to the report, “It wasn't just for me,” explained Ferguson. “It was for my team, man, and my sponsors and obviously for my family."

“Ferguson was originally set to fight UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov back in April. However, the event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, yet Ferguson decided to stay on schedule and make weight,” writes author Adam Martin in his December 11, 2020 BJPenn.com article titled, “Dana White says double weight cut “impacted” Tony Ferguson in loss to Justin Gaethje.”

According to Martin, “The UFC was then able to hold an event in May in Jacksonville and Ferguson was matched up against Gaethje. Ferguson cut weight for a second time in a short period of time and then suffered the worst loss of his UFC career as he was beaten to the punch and TKOed in the fifth.”

As the MMAPressRoom.com has previously reported in leading the way once again in the mixed martial arts community as the combat sports industries premier source for news and information, the lack of cerebrospinal fluid on the brain can leave athletes susceptible to “concussions, brain bleeding, KO and even death.” The fact Ferguson depleted himself twice in such a short amount of time, coupled with the damage he took against Gaethje may have very well had long term consequences for his career that we are currently seeing culminate today. With Sherdog.com still reporting on the beating Ferguson took at the hands of Gaethje at UFC 249, the fact the MMA Press Room was reporting on this issue well over a year ago now is as equally journalistic elite as it is eerily prophetic in scope. Quite simply put, “I’m the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be.”