It took a while for someone to emerge as the villain on Season 13 of "The Ultimate Fighter," but when it happened the back lash was hellacious for Tony Ferguson. The entire house turned on Ferguson, after his drunken attack Charlie Rader. Ferguson trained by himself and reached the final. Brock Lesnar, who knows all about being a polarizing figure helped the prospect through the fire.
With a guarantee six-figure deal up for grabs, Ferguson faces Ramsey Nijem tomorrow at the Palms in Las Vegas.
"You see Brock as the villain, but I got to see Brock and the one thing is, I don't look at him that way," Ferguson told RawVegas. "Brock was not intimidating to me at all. I have a bigger uncle who was kind of like him. So it was easier to deal with him. He was awesome from the get-go."
Ferguson bonded with Lesnar so much that he decided to work with the Death Clutch Gym, the former UFC heavyweight champ's camp in Minnesota. He was honored because as he said Brock doesn't tolerate just anyone. In spite of his transgressions, Lesnar trusted Ferguson just like his family did when he had to tell them about the drunken episode on TUF.
"My friends and my family know me for who I am. I had to look at myself and ask that. Before this episode aired, I was having a panic attack ... like 'oh, my mom and dad are going to be seeing this. Oh crap.'� They re-assured me that they know who I am," said Ferguson.
The 25-year-old knows he's a work in progress, but much of the effort could be sidetracked if he doesn't get the job done in the Octagon.
"The biggest concern is that I want little kids to look up to me. So I know I have a lot of work to do, but the first thing that's in front of me is beating Ramsey," said Ferguson.
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