Tony Ferguson is Back – ‘El Cucuy’ Set for First Misfits Title Defense Weeks After Personal Tragedy
It's Tony time in Misfits Boxing! Even after the losses piled up, the former UFC interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson, kept finding reasons to fight.
Now, at 42, “El Cucuy” has another reason to step through the ropes. Ferguson will return to the Misfits Boxing ring on Sept. 26, defending his middleweight title against former soccer player Kenzo Biyong at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida.
Tony Ferguson is Back for His First Misfits Title Defense
The announcement comes only weeks after Ferguson suffered a deeply personal loss. His mother, Vera, passed away in August, leaving the longtime fighter to navigate grief, but the show goes on.
Misfits Boxing announced Ferguson’s return over the weekend, declaring, “El Cucuy returns,” as the promotion revealed his matchup with Biyong. The five-round title fight will headline a major night for the former UFC star, with the event streaming live on DAZN.
He left the UFC in 2024 after suffering eight consecutive defeats, an unprecedented skid that brought an uncomfortable end to one of the most entertaining runs in the promotion’s history. Suddenly, the man who once appeared nearly impossible to break had become a fighter searching for something to hold onto.
Yet Boxing gave him that opportunity. Ferguson made his Misfits debut in August 2025 against influencer boxer Salt Papi. Rather than easing his way back into competition, he stopped Salt Papi in the third round, snapping a winless run that had stretched for nearly six years.
Four months later, he went the distance with Warren Spencer and secured a unanimous decision to capture the vacant Misfits middleweight championship. And just like that, Ferguson was a champion again.
That said, the title defense against Biyong will be his first since winning the belt. In June, Ferguson stepped onto the wrestling mat at Real American Freestyle 10 and was handed a 10-0 technical-fall defeat by UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan.
Kenzo Biyong Presents Another Unusual Chapter
Ferguson’s opponent is hardly a conventional boxing challenger. Biyong, 28, comes from a soccer background, having played as a defender in European youth and developmental setups before leaving the sport behind. He subsequently moved into wrestling and submission grappling, eventually becoming a Dutch national champion before making his way into UFC BJJ.
Kenzo Biyong Goes From Pitch to Ring Ahead of Tony Ferguson Fight
In April, he made his UFC BJJ debut, submitting Raphael Ferreira with a rear-naked choke in the first round. Now he is ready to take another leap, this time into professional boxing.
That makes Ferguson’s experience one of the biggest variables heading into the matchup. While “El Cucuy” may no longer be the relentless UFC contender who once ran through the lightweight division, he has spent decades competing in combat sports and has already gone through two professional boxing bouts.
Biyong, meanwhile, will be lacing up his gloves for the first time as a professional. The fight is part of a loaded September 26 Misfits card headlined by another former UFC champion.
Two-time UFC titleholder Henry Cejudo will make his boxing debut against Deen the Great, while Misfits heavyweight champion Chase DeMoor is scheduled to defend his belt against Plinio Cruz, the longtime coach of Alex Pereira.
For Ferguson, however, the night is about something more personal. His mother’s passing came just weeks before his scheduled return. Ferguson shared an emotional tribute to Vera on social media, including the life advice she had given him: “If you want love, give love, you want hate give hate, you want happiness… Give happiness.”
