Tony Ferguson Blasts Misfits Boxing Circus Before Miami Title Defense

Tony Ferguson has boxed under the Misfits banner twice already, but the influencer sideshow has finally worn him thin. Ahead of his third promotional outing — a middleweight title defense against short-notice replacement Mahmoud Sebie this Saturday in Miami — Ferguson used Thursday's press conference to tear into the very lineup he's headlining.

The presser was pure chaos: near-brawls, endless trash talk, and one boxer reportedly claiming to have stolen his opponent's girlfriend. Ferguson took the mic and made it personal, saying his children had to walk out because of the behavior on stage. He argued he doesn't need to play the influencer game to sell himself, and warned the room that the kids consuming this content are the ones who'll one day be running the country.

Old-School Meets Clickbait

When influencer Dad — set to face Cherdleys on the same card — tried to defuse things, Ferguson wasn't in a joking mood. He fired back that he'd happily handle Dad afterward too, insisting none of the antics rattle him. His pitch was simple: he's there to fight, to box, and to represent himself, not to farm views.

Ferguson leaned on his UFC pedigree to underline the contrast, saying he'd told Henry Cejudo that this kind of spectacle never happens in the Octagon or anywhere else he's worked. He described sitting through the madness with a headphone in, listening to music and saying his prayers — the rosary included — hoping everyone in the room might find a little peace.

He's not the only former UFC champion slumming it in the Misfits ecosystem. Cejudo, the ex two-division titleholder, headlines against Wanna Walton in his promotional debut. Cejudo carries a 16-6 MMA record with eight knockouts and is coming off a unanimous-decision loss to Payton Talbott — hardly the send-off a Hall-of-Fame-level résumé deserves, which tells you plenty about where crossover money is right now.

Sebie, a former Olympic wrestler stepping in on short notice, is the kind of opponent that reads as low-risk on paper but carries obvious grappling-to-boxing question marks. For Ferguson, the fight itself may be the easy part. Keeping his patience through the rest of the weekend looks like the harder assignment.