UFC Mexico City: Jeremy Stephens Talks Training With Tony Ferguson, Running From The “Boogeyman”

Jeremy Stephens will battle Yair Rodriguez today at UFC Mexico City, and he’ll do so, having spent some training with Tony Ferguson. If you follow “El Cucuy”, you won’t be surprised to hear Stephens is reporting that the experience was awesome/interesting.

Stephens reflects on training with Ferguson

Stephens has been booked to fight Rodriguez today, following consecutive losses to Zabit Magomedsharipov and Jose Aldo. Prior to those defeats, “Lil’ Heathen’ had scored three straight wins, including a vicious KO of Josh Emmett.

Well, while speaking with the media this week, Stephens reported that Ferguson helped him get ready for today’s fight. While reflecting on his training with the former interim lightweight champ, Stephens said this (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“It’s like 1 in the morning, and I’m running up this hill, and he’s like, ‘Bro, I need you to sprint up this (expletive) hill, bro. Everything you’ve got.’ I’m like, ‘OK.’ I’m tired. I actually ran in the morning and then went and trained with him.”

“So I’m running up this hill, and ‘El Cucuy,’ the boogeyman, is like, ‘I’m going to get you! I’m going to get you!’” Stephens said. “I’m (expletive) running my ass off, bro. He’s actually coming! He’s coming up the hill. He’s trying to chase me. He’s like, ‘Don’t let me catch you! I’m going to get you!’

“The boogeyman is screaming at me. Like, what the (expletive)?”

“Tremendous experience,” Stephens said. “I had a smile on my face the whole time I sprinted up that hill. He gave me the best compliment I think anybody could give me. He says, ‘Man, you’re in (expletive) phenomenal shape.’”

How about that? Having the ‘boogeyman’ chase you aside, it’s not surprising to hear that Ferguson is extremely driven when it comes to training and conditioning. It’s a rare sight to see Ferguson exhausted in the Octagon, despite the ridiculous pace he keeps and the volume he offers in strikes.

So, having “El Cucuy” praise your own conditioning has got to feel good. Now it will be interesting to see whether Stephens needs to tap into his extra gas tank against Yair today.

UFC Mexico City line-up

Here is the line-up for today’s card in Mexico City (via MMA Mania).

UFC Fight Night 159 Main Card on ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET)

145 lbs.: Yair Rodriguez vs. Jeremy Stephens
115 lbs.: Carla Esparza vs. Alexa Grasso
125 lbs.: Brandon Moreno vs. Askar Askarov
135 lbs.: Irene Aldana vs. Vanessa Melo
145 lbs.: Martin Bravo vs. Steven Peterson

UFC Fight Night 159 Prelims Card on ESPN+ (5 p.m. ET)

135 lbs.: Jose Quinonez vs. Carlos Huachin
145 lbs.: Kyle Nelson vs. Marco Polo Reyes
115 lbs.: Angela Hill vs. Ariane Carnelossi
125 lbs.: Sergio Pettis vs. Tyson Nam
205 lbs.: Paul Craig vs. Vinicius Moreira
135 lbs.: Sijara Eubanks vs. Bethe Correia
155 lbs.: Marcos Mariano vs. Claudio Puelles

*Fight card, bout order and the amount of matches subject to change.