Tony Ferguson vs. Salt Papi squared off in a Middleweight contest earlier tonight (Sat. Aug. 30, 2025) at Misfits Boxing 22 live on DAZN inside AO Arena in Manchester, England. In a classic “El Cucuy” pressure performance, 41-year-old Ferguson secured the comeback knockout win.
Salt Papi, real name Nathaniel Bustamante, settled into the fight on the outside, flicking his jab and clearly looking for counters. Ferguson pressed patiently. Papi landed first with a long left hand. “El Cucuy” slipped a shot
and landed a couple body shots. Papi scored with another left hand that backed off Ferguson, demonstrating a massive difference in speed.
Ferguson was in the hole after round one.
Ferguson came out firing early in the second, landing a couple straight shots. Papi scored back with a nice combo. Ferguson’s pressure was starting to build success, as he put Papi on the ropes more often. Papi landed hard to the body but ate a combo as well. Ferguson did better seeing the left hand in round two, but an uppercut shook him a bit. Overall, it was a better round for “El Cucuy,” but Papi still landed the best shots.
Salt Papi did well in the first minute of round three, turning Ferguson and timing him with counters. Midway through the round, Ferguson started jabbing more, which really helped him increase his landing percentage. Ferguson started to build moment, really bullying his foe around the ring with volume. He wasn’t landing anything devastating, but the momentum and numbers were beginning to switch corners..
With 20 seconds remaining in the round, Ferguson stung Papi with a right hand. He swarmed, firing dozens of punches while Papi was stuck along the ropes. Shockingly, the referee opted to call the fight rather than merely call a standing eight count, awarding Ferguson the instant stoppage victory.
As thrilled as I am to witness an “El Cucuy” victory after all these years … this was a terrible stoppage! Papi was still defending himself and seemed more fatigued than hurt. It’s hard to come back when Ferguson gets rolling, but Papi definitely deserved the opportunity to try, particularly since he never even hit the floor.
Still, for the MMA community and Tony Ferguson fans around the world, it’s a good day!
Result: Ferguson defeats Salt Papi via third-round knockout
For complete Misfits 22 results and highlights, click here.
