Report: Ferguson leaves UFC, signs with Global Fight League

Tony Ferguson is ditching his longtime home for an upstart MMA league.

Ferguson has agreed to part ways with the UFC, ending a run that lasted nearly 14 years and saw "El Cucuy" capture the interim lightweight championship, sources told MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn and Farah Hannoun.

In the wake of his split with the UFC, Ferguson has signed a deal with the Global Fight League (GFL), it announced Friday. The GFL is a new team-based promotion scheduled to launch in April. Ferguson will be eligible for its inaugural draft Friday night.

Ferguson, 40, is coming off a submission loss to Michael Chiesa at UFC Abu Dhabi last August in which he set the record for consecutive losses in the UFC (eight). Ferguson hasn't won a fight since a doctor's stoppage TKO against Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in 2019.

The Oxnard, California, native tore through his competition in the first half of his Octagon career, winning 15 of his first 16 bouts and stringing together a 12-fight winning streak. Ferguson beat Kevin Lee to claim the interim 155-pound title in 2017 but never challenged for undisputed gold.

After a one-sided defeat to Justin Gaethje in May 2020, he went on to lose to the likes of Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler, Nate Diaz, and Paddy Pimblett, among others.

Looking ahead to the GFL, Ferguson could be drafted to one of six city-based teams Friday night. The teams - Dubai, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Sao Paulo - will each make 20 selections to form a 120-fighter roster. Over 420 fighters are eligible for the draft.

Ferguson will become a free agent if he isn't drafted.

Rashad Evans, Anthony Pettis, Sage Northcutt, Dillon Danis, Tyron Woodley, Paige VanZant, and Yoel Romero are some of the fighters also eligible for the draft.