In the wake of the filing of a restraining order against her husband, Tony Ferguson’s wife late Thursday issued a statement.
Cristina Ferguson, the wife of former UFC interim lightweight champion Ferguson, on Wednesday filed a restraining order against him alleging domestic violence. The news first was reported Thursday by MMA Junkie.
After the news broke, Cristina Ferguson issued a statement to UFC broadcast partner ESPN, published at ESPN.com.
The statement from Cristina Ferguson reads: “Tony Ferguson is a good husband and good father to our son. The current legal proceedings are a part of a process to ensure that Tony will receive the help necessary to continue being the best possible, as well as to pursue his passion and career as a UFC champion fighter. All positive well wishes are sincerely appreciated and I hope our privacy will be respected.”
Tony Ferguson also has been posting on social media in the aftermath of the news going public, including a pair of cryptic tweets and an Instagram post that he deleted not longer after posting.
That post reportedly included this passage, though screen grabs of the original post were not immediately available to corroborate: “Keep The Faith & Keep Moving Forward Crew. I was called a little bitch by someone close to me, We won’t name names but I’ll never be that type of me, like I said the name is Tony & you better believe me when I say I’ll never leave it to the judges. Ya Feel Me.”
But one post after that, he kept up on Instagram:
“It Takes Trust” 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 Champ Shit Only🕴TonyFergusonXT.com Thank you fans for the continued support, we appreciate you 💯,” Ferguson posted.
According to online records, Cristina Ferguson filed the restraining order in Orange County (Calif.) Superior Court. An ex-parte hearing took place the same day. The court’s domestic violence prevention services project has scheduled an investigation for March 22; a domestic violence hearing is scheduled for April 5.
The restraining order was filed less than one week after six police units were dispatched to the Ferguson home in Santa Ana. Cristina Ferguson told police she was at her parents’ house in La Mirada this past Friday when Tony Ferguson took their 2-year-old son back to their house and changed the locks on the doors, according to a police report. She said she didn’t fear for the child’s safety, and officers left after determining there was no custody order and no crime committed.
The restraining order against Tony Ferguson comes on the heels of UFC President Dana White commenting on “personal issues” facing the fighter. When asked by a fan about Ferguson’s absence from the octagon, White said he’s “dealing with a lot of personal issues right now and can’t fight. Hopefully things turn around for him and he can get back in there.”
Ferguson, who’s won his past 11 fights, hasn’t competed since a second-round TKO win over Anthony Pettis last October at UFC 229. Ferguson was in line for a title shot against lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov. But after Nurmagomedov was issued a nine-month suspension for his role in an infamous melee at UFC 229, the promotion’s plans for the division stalled.
Late last month, the promotion announced an interim lightweight title fight between featherweight champ Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier for April 13 at UFC 235. White later said Ferguson turned down the fight with Poirier, adding that the decision hurt his immediate title hopes.
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