Tony Ferguson insists he has no plans to hang up his gloves just yet. 

Ferguson (25-6), the former UFC interim lightweight champion, is arguably going through the most difficult period of his career. 

'El Cucuy' was last seen in action at UFC 262, where he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Beneil Dariush at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, which has cast doubt about his future.

The 35-year-old is currently riding a three-fight losing streak. His last win came in a June 2019 bout against Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone at UFC 238.

But he is not done yet, and has hit back at those who have doubted him.  

'Retire and give these MF’s a break!?' Ferguson posted. 'No, not on my watch.'

The California native - who has lost three of his last four fights - added: 'Now I'm pissed.'

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However, UFC president Dana White was forced to admit during the post-fight press conference that he wasn't sure what the future will hold for The Ultimate Fighter 13 winner.

"He had a tough three rounds," White said (via MMA Fighting). "He couldn’t stop the takedown, he couldn’t get up from underneath Dariush, and yeah, he had a tough night.

"I don’t know, we’ll see what happens."

Tony Ferguson

"It could be that, it could be just time gets us all," he added. "So it’s one of those things, I don’t know which one, or both.

"But yeah, unfortunately it’s definitely hit Tony."

He continued: "He’s tough as hell though.

"He was in that heel hook and his ankle definitely popped.

"His ankle the rest of the fight looked like a golf ball, maybe even a baseball, and he kept fighting.

"There’s no quit in that dude. He’s tough."

Ferguson has developed a reputation for being one of the most durable fighters on the roster but pushing your body to such extreme limits invariably comes at a terrible cost.

Whether or not he will be able to continue to compete at such a high level of mixed martial arts remains to be seen. 

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