More than eight years removed from his brief reign as interim UFC lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson will get the chance to finally defend a belt in his next boxing match.
One of the most popular fighters on the UFC roster during his lengthy run as one of the promotion’s top lightweights, Ferguson exited the UFC last year on an eight-fight losing streak but returned to the win column in August when he stopped Nathaniel Bustamante in his boxing debut.
The win saw Ferguson capture Misfits Boxing’s interim middleweight title, and now the promotion has announced that “El Cucuy” will defend his belt on December 20 against Warren Spencer.
El Cucuy vs The Mechanic 🏆
Tony Ferguson and Warren Spencer go head to head for the MFB Interim Middleweight World Title ⚔️
Get your tickets, link 🔗 https://t.co/wEHvxq7SL5 pic.twitter.com/ZH5ThWWZhg
— Misfits Boxing (@MisfitsBoxing) November 19, 2025Tony Ferguson Set To Defend Boxing Title At Misfits Mania
The welterweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 in 2011, Ferguson won his first two UFC bouts after formally joining the promotion that year before he dropped a decision to Michael Johnson for his first Octagon setback.
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The Johnson fight turned out to be the last time Ferguson would taste defeat for more than six years, as he proceeded to go on a staggering 12-fight win streak starting in 2013 that included victories over Edson Barboza, UFC Hall of Famer Donald Cerrone, former UFC lightweight titleholders Rafael dos Anjos and Anthony Pettis, and a win over Kevin Lee at UFC 216 that saw “El Cucuy” claim the promotion’s interim lightweight belt.
Tony Ferguson (red gloves) fights Paddy Pimblett (blue gloves) during UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Fans sadly missed out on seeing Ferguson in a lightweight title bout with UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov after the fight famously fell through on five different occasions, and a loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 kicked off what became an eight-fight skid in the UFC that concluded with a first-round submission loss to Michael Chiesa in August of last year.
Dillon Danis Defends Misfits MMA Title On The Same Night As “El Cucuy”
Ferguson was initially scheduled to meet Dillon Danis in his first post-UFC outing with the short-lived Global Fight League, and when those plans fell through the 41-year-old made the jump to boxing and stopped Bustamante in the third round at MF & DAZN X Series 22: Ring of Thrones.
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The former UFC star will now look to defend his interim middleweight belt against Spencer, who went 1-2 in exhibition boxing matches in 2024 before he stopped Muganzi Hakim in the first round in April. Spencer made his MMA debut on the same Misfits Card where Ferguson defeated Bustamante, losing to Danis via guillotine choke in just 15 seconds in a fight for the promotion’s light heavyweight MMA belt.
Dillon Danis after his win over Max Humphrey during Bellator 222 at Madison Square Garden. | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
Danis will also look to defend his title at Misfits Mania in Dubai, UAE, taking on 12-fight MMA veteran Anthony Taylor, and fans can expect that Ferguson and Danis will almost certainly exchange some words both before and after their respective bouts on December 20.
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