Tony Ferguson Defends Misfits Middleweight Belt vs Kenzo Biyong

Tony Ferguson is booking another trip to the Misfits Boxing ring, and he's not waiting around. The former UFC interim lightweight champ defends his Misfits middleweight title against Kenzo Biyong on Sept. 26 at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, with the card streaming on DAZN.

Ferguson picked up the interim strap with a stoppage of Salt Papi at Misfits 22 last August — his first combat-sports win in more than six years. He was upgraded to undisputed champ after a unanimous-decision nod over Warren Spencer at Misfits Mania in December. His only outing since came in June, when he dropped a tech fall to Arman Tsarukyan at RAF 10.

Where Ferguson Stands

The context here matters. Ferguson's UFC ledger sits at 26-11 (13 KO, 8 SUB), and his last cage appearance was a first-round rear-naked choke loss to Michael Chiesa. Those numbers tell the story of a fighter who's leaned into the crossover circuit to keep winning, and so far it's mostly worked — that Salt Papi finish snapped a long, brutal drought.

Tsarukyan, for what it's worth, is no soft touch on any mat. The UFC's No. 2 lightweight carries a 23-3 record with six submissions and is next set to face Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331. Ferguson stepping into a grappling match against that caliber of opponent explains the June result well enough.

Who's Biyong?

Biyong's résumé reads like a genre-hopper's dream. He's a former pro soccer player who moved into jiu-jitsu, then rolled at UFC BJJ 7 in April, where he tapped to Raphael Ferreira. Now he's swapping the gi for gloves against a headliner-level name. It's the kind of matchup Misfits builds its brand on.

The card itself leans on star power up top: former two-division UFC champ Henry Cejudo, 16-6 across his MMA run, boxes Deen the Great in the main event. Ferguson's title defense slots in as one of the marquee support bouts, and for a fighter who's rebuilt momentum one crossover night at a time, holding onto that belt in Miami is the whole point.