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Salt Papi Returns To The Ring In Bout With Former UFC Champion Tony Ferguson

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Joseph Hammond | Last updated Aug 29, 2025 11:29 AM ET

It's tough to compare and understand boxing records in Misfits, as you have almost nothing in terms of amateur or previous fights. That has actually been to the advantage of at least one fighter in Misfits boxing – Salt Papi.

Papi took some losses early on, but is one of the league’s improving stars. He takes a step up in class this weekend against former UFC lightweight Tony Ferguson, and the fight is arguably the biggest event in combat sports on the calendar. It offers Papi a moment to capture the attention of not just Misfit boxing fans, but also casuals.

Ferguson is from Oxnard, CA, a hotbed for combat sports, and has trained in wrestling, jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, Wing Chun, and boxing throughout his career. This fight will mark his first effort in the boxing ring.

Papi’s own career has involved more gastronomic than pugilistic training. He rose to prominence as a Filipino-British influencer known for imitating Turkish steak mogul “Salt Bae” by sprinkling salt on fast food items.

Tony Ferguson and Salt Papi face off ahead of their fight this weekend.

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He’s fit right in with Misfits boxing and proved a sizable draw. His last fight in Doha, Qatar, drew many fans from the Filipino diaspora in that country.

Now, Papi is back in Manchester in front of his core fan base. Ferguson arrives in Manchester looking like a man looking to change his desk, not his destiny. He carries with him an eight-fight losing streak like a heavy briefcase nobody can manage to fit overhead on a budget airline.

His last octagon appearance was at UFC on ABC: Sandhagen vs. Nurmagomedov on August 3, 2024. Ferguson was forced to submit in that fight. Not surprisingly, Salt Papi originally vowed to knock out Ferguson. Papi is 31 and Ferguson is 41. Papi is rather heavy-handed for the influencer scene, and it wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

Yet, the claim has fired up Ferguson.

"I don’t care how real or fake you are when you’re in front of me, and you don’t want to have the f—ing balls to say that you’re going to knock me out? I don’t give a f— motherf—er, you’re going to see the real El Cucuyi,” Ferguson said in an interview with Bloody Elbow.

Ferguson’s best work is an interim lightweight title, but this fight will be well above that weight in Manchester.

For Salt Papi, whose biggest win is King Kenny, a victory over a former UFC champion for the “interim” Misfits Boxing Middleweight Championship would be his most significant win and propel him back to the forefront of Misfits boxing.

This article first appeared on KO on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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