Tony Ferguson finally snapped the streak.<\/p>\n
The future UFC Hall of Famer and former interim lightweight champion earned his first combat sports win since 2019 on Saturday at Misfits Boxing 22<\/a>, stopping Nathaniel “Salt Papi” Bustamante with a come-from-behind third-round TKO in a major betting upset at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n With the victory, Ferguson, 41, captures the Misfits Boxing interim middleweight championship.<\/p>\n “One win changes everything,” said Ferguson.<\/p>\n Ferguson (25-11 MMA, 1-0 boxing) had fallen on hard times in recent years. Once of the most dominant lightweights in MMA, Ferguson rose to prominence on the back of a record-breaking 12-fight win streak in the UFC from 2013-19, which included a 2017 stoppage of Kevin Lee to capture the interim lightweight title while then-champ Conor McGregor left MMA to indulge in his side quest to box Floyd Mayweather. But Ferguson’s memorable run finally came to an end against Justin Gaethje in 2020 \u2014 a result that started an eight-fight UFC losing skid for Ferguson that ultimately led to his departure from the promotion.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Ferguson was expected to make his first appearance in his post-UFC life in an MMA bout against Dillon Danis for the ill-fated Global Fight League (GFL), however following the collapse of the GFL, he pivoted to making his professional boxing debut against Misfits veteran Bustamante (6-3, 5 KOs).<\/p>\n Bustamante, 31, looked like the more comfortable fighter early on Saturday, picking apart the UFC veteran with left hands from the outside and catching Ferguson with glancing power shots and slick counter-punching. But Ferguson gradually found his rhythm in the ring, tightening up the contest with a more competitive second round before dialing up his aggression in the third and smothering Bustamante with popping right hands and heavy pressure in the corners.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The fight-ending sequence arrived with 20 seconds left on the clock in Round 3, as Ferguson blitzed Bustamante with a barrage of punches that ultimately prompted the referee to jump in and halt the action \u2014 albeit with ample protest of an early stoppage from the Misfits Boxing commentary team.<\/p>\n Afterward, Ferguson and Danis \u2014 the latter of whom captured the inaugural Misfits MMA title earlier in the night<\/a> with a 15-second submission of Warren Spencer \u2014 planted the seeds for a future bout.<\/p>\n “We’ve got to do it for the belt now,” Danis said to Ferguson in-ring. “We’ve got to do it for the MMA belt. You had the UFC belt, now you come for my belt. Congrats on the win.”<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n