Tony Ferguson is a UFC ‘company man,’ but wants Dana White to treat him right, bro

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White and current top-ranked Lightweight contender Tony Ferguson aren’t exactly the worst of enemies, but they aren’t best friends, either.

In fact, White didn’t take too kindly to “El Cucuy’s” request for a pay increase, telling him to honor his current contract instead of lobbying for more cash. Furthermore, the UFC head honcho wasn’t pleased with Ferguson’s decision to decline a last-minute fight against Michael Johnson at UFC 209 after Khabib Nurmagomedov bowed out with an illness.

Of course, that fight wasn’t going to be for an interim title and it would’ve come with a smaller paycheck, which is why Tony wasn’t too keen on agreeing to the switch. Still, that didn’t stop White from slamming him while praising McGregor for doing the opposite.

As for Tony’s reaction, well, he isn’t losing sleep due to Dana’s criticism, but he just wants his boss to know that at the end of the day, he is a company man who wants to be treated right.

"When Dana [White] goes on Snoop Dogg and says, 'Tony is a big whatever and Conor didn't get paid to do this,' yeah I understand that. They are going to understand I'm such a shitty person and that's awesome,” said Tony in a recent interview on the Anik and Florian podcast (via Flo Combat).

“But I'm a company man still, Dana. I love you guys. I'm gonna keep working my ass off, keep doing what I do, keep my mouth shut and keep working forward. But... you gotta treat me right, Bro. Seriously,” he added.

Currently playing the waiting game thanks to Conor McGregor’s scheduled fight against Floyd Mayweather and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s health issues, Tony finds himself in an odd predicament, as he is managed by Paradigm Sport Management, the same group that advises McGregor.

If it were up to Ferguson, he’d be fighting for the interim title against a worthy contender in order to set up a super fight against “Notorious.”

"The interim title is vacant so let's get it in the hands of someone who wants it," he added. "Let's have that argument, build that case so when Conor does come back we can have that super fight regardless if it is myself or Khabib, but I don't see that dude beating me anytime soon or even making weight."

It’s not a bad idea, actually, as Conor has stated that he intends to return to the UFC cage later this year after he gets down with his boxing venture. And since interim title fights are all the rage these days, adding one more to the mix isn’t going to make a world of difference.

The question is, who’s worthy of an interim title fight against Ferguson?