Tragedy struck in Las Vegas on Sunday when lone gunman Stephen Paddock killed 58 concertgoers and injured more than 500. It is the largest shooting in American history, and, five days later, there are still many questions left unanswered.
UFC 216 headliner Tony Ferguson will compete for the organization's interim lightweight title less than a week after the horrific incident took place. Despite the opportunity to win gold, Ferguson almost lost it all. In an nterview yesterday with MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani, Ferguson described how his family was headed to the spot that changed hundreds of lives forever.
Close to home
“It sucks man. My family just got out of church. My wife, and her parents, and my son. They love music. When they got done with church they were going to head over to the fair."
"I’m just so surprised they are still allowing this fight," Ferguson said in disbelief, with the event being held just days after the tragedy in Sin City.
When asked if he would rather not fight on Saturday, Ferguson said, “I have to be professional about it.”
Helwani then asked, “Is your heart into it?”
“Of course, I’m not gonna let this guy beat me. I’m very focused. I’ve very honed in. I have the ability to take the chaos and mold it like I said.”
Ferguson's family were not injured in the attack that took place but the close call seems to have played a role in his actions this week as he got emotional during pre-fight interviews and media obligations.
Ferguson enters the fight with a heavy heart. He carries a nine fight win streak into the octagon, but will the close call earlier this week impact the biggest fight of his life?
UFC 216 takes place Saturday, Oct. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and will be broadcast live on pay-per-view. A second title fight is set for the co-main event as Demetrious Johnson will defend his flyweight title against challenger Ray Borg.
The fight was originally supposed to take place in September but Borg fell ill prior to the contest.
Below is the official UFC 216 fight card:
- Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee for UFC interim lightweight title
- Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg for UFC flyweight title
- Fabricio Werdum vs. Derrick Lewis
- Evan Dunham vs. Beneil Dariush
- Cody Stamann vs. Tom Duquesnoy
- Nik Lentz vs. Will Brooks
- Lando Vannata vs. Bobby Green
- Pearl Gonzalez vs. Poliana Botelho
- Walt Harris vs. Mark Godbeer
- John Moraga vs. Magomed Bibulatov
- Brad Tavares vs. Thales Leites
- Matt Schnell vs. Marco Beltran
