Covington urges Ferguson to retire after Misfits win

Colby Covington urged fellow veteran Tony Ferguson to retire after Ferguson scored his first competitive win in more than six years, saying the Misfits Boxing triumph should serve as a final sendoff even as Ferguson has signaled he wants to keep fighting. Covington made the comments in a video posted to his YouTube channel this week, following Ferguson's third-round TKO over influencer Nathaniel "Salt Papi" Bustamante at Misfits Boxing 22 in Manchester on Saturday.

Ferguson, 41, ended an eight-fight skid that dated to a 2019 stoppage of Donald Cerrone, picking up the interim MFB middleweight title. The finish was disputed by at least one Misfits referee who described the stoppage as extremely early, and critics noted that Salt Papi has limited combat sports experience. Covington acknowledged the victory but advised Ferguson to "quit while you're ahead and ride off into the sunset," saying he wanted Ferguson to spend more time with his family and avoid further head trauma. In the video Covington added a pointed quip about concussion risks, saying, "No more hits to the head, and no more reason to give Ducklip Justin Gaethje a run for his money for King of CTE."