Tony Ferguson shares heartbreaking message to his mother ahead of Misfits Boxing title defense
Tony Ferguson has found a new passion since departing the UFC, and he’s great at it.
Still feeding his competitive nature, Ferguson has ventured into boxing and has been earning plaudits since making the move from the cage to the ring. Featuring exclusively on Misfits, ‘El Cucuy’ has amassed a 2-0 record in just one year with the promotion. Despite a perfect start to life in his new career, there is some sad news. In August 2026, Ferguson’s mother, Vera Padilla Ferguson, passed away; a sudden, massive heart attack was the cause of death.
As he prepares to defend his undisputed Misfits middleweight title on Saturday, Tony Ferguson made sure not to dwell on anything negative and instead to remember all the positive moments from his mother’s life.
“My mom is no longer with us; my mom passed away. There’s a lot of things going on this past camp,” Ferguson said. “So, when you go into energies and then just- the devil wants to come in and tries to just put turmoil on certain things. God is good, no matter what… good blessings, bad blessings, or whatever they are, at least there’s certain kinds of blessings in your life.”
Ferguson continued.
“So, for the last year and a half, it’s been absolutely- actually, about two years I’ve been with Misfits? I’ve traveled the world. I’ve got to bring my mom with me to travel the world with her. Experience new things with my sons. Not just MMA. Not just in the gym. Not just social media stuff. It’s been life in general, which has just been absolutely just been thriving… Instead of just mourning and being in grief like everyone else would be, I’m actually celebrating, which is the most random, crazy thing, right? Because I don’t have bad memories. I don’t have bad energy.”
“You’re talking about this lady raised this kid right here to go out there and do what he’s doing. Whatever that is, you guys see that’s character… My mom passed away, yes. But I gave myself one day; maybe even a day or two. Got myself, dusted myself off, made sure everything was good with family, and then I took the fight. Wanted to make sure I can come out here and demonstrate to you all: doesn’t matter what happens in life. One foot in front of the other, motherf***ers. That’s Misfits Boxing.”
Thanking his fans for sticking by his side during this tough time, Ferguson said:
“I want to say for everybody that sent out a shout-out from when I put out the picture of me sitting by my mom’s coffin. My wife took that picture. I needed to stand by to my mom’s graveside to make sure that she would be safe and sound. And that’s standing guard.”
Listen to the heartbreaking video below.