Tony Ferguson promised changes were coming after his knockout loss to Michael Chandler in May, and his latest move has brought him to one of the top MMA teams.
The one-time UFC interim lightweight champion just recently started working out at Jackson Wink MMA Academy, the Albuquerque, N.M.-based gym that counts fighters like Holly Holm, Aaron Pico and Michelle Waterson among its ranks.
Ferguson was seen working alongside striking coach Brandon Gibson, who has spent years training with former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones as well.
After suffering a brutal front kick knockout from Chandler, Ferguson said he needed to make some wholesale changes in his training to ensure that never happened again.
According to Ferguson, the biggest need was opening himself up to joining a new team and also welcoming insight from different coaches.
“I put myself away from the teams thinking I could do this by myself – and I did it,” Ferguson told MMA Junkie after his loss. “I’ve done this by myself for a very long time with the help of a select few individuals, and I’ve been very fortunate to have that.
“But I’m ready to be part of a team again. It was only when my team broke up that I felt really hurt that I moved areas, that I moved situations, switched management and all the above. I have to open myself up again to being coached at a high level. Especially in my sport.”
Of course, the Jackson Winkeljohn gym has served as a launching pad for dozens of champions across numerous organizations over the years. Headed up by Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn, the New Mexico facility first came to prominence with fighters like Keith Jardine, Diego Sanchez and Joey Villasenor.
That eventually gave way to fighters like Alistair Overeem, Carlos Condit, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, John Dodson, Rashad Evans and Georges St-Pierre seeking to find similar success as they worked with coaches like Jackson and Winkeljohn over the years.
Now, it appears Ferguson is looking to tap into that same talent while working out at Jackson Winkeljohn, though there’s no word yet if this will become a permanent move or not.