Tony Ferguson ends losing streak with TKO over Salt Papi at Misfits 22

Tony Ferguson finally remembers what it feels like to have a hand raised. For the first time in over five years, 'El Cucuy' is back in the win column, though the path to get there, a third-round TKO of influencer British-Filipino boxer Salt Papi at Misfits Boxing 22 in Manchester, was anything but straightforward.

Let's be honest, we’ve all watched Ferguson’s brutal MMA decline, so the bar for success was painfully low. Just make it out of the ring without another highlight-reel loss. What we got was a bizarrely familiar version of the old Tony. From the opening bell, he was that same unorthodox pressure fighter, absorbing a few clean shots from the surprisingly game Salt Papi, yet wearing that annoyed expression that made it clear he wasn’t having any of it.

Then came the third round. With that chaotic motor still running, Ferguson finally cornered Papi. What followed wasn't a precision knockout; it was a vintage Ferguson swarm, a whirlwind of punches that sent Papi seemed struggling and forced the ref to jump in. Just like that, the fight was over. The official time was 2:43.

But this is combat sports, and no moment of redemption is ever pure. Within seconds, the celebration online was hijacked by debate. The replays show Papi might have been more off-balance than out, and the stoppage feels early to a lot of people watching. It’s a controversy that will linger.

Yet, for one night at least, the record books won't show a loss. They'll show that Tony Ferguson, against all odds, is 1-0 as a professional boxer and has a weird, shiny Misfits title to show for it. After the hellish stretch he’s endured, you have to wonder if he’d take that win no matter how it came.