Tony Ferguson did not speak to the press. He spoke to his mother. The former UFC fighter bid farewell to Vera Padilla Ferguson at a wake where he could barely remain standing.
He left nothing to others: he helped bury her himself and stood vigil at her funeral. Then he wrote the words he perhaps could not say while looking her in the eyes. “Mission accomplished”, he told her. “We love you, Mom”.
In his message, he recalled something she had repeated to him since childhood: if you want love, give love; if you want happiness, give happiness. A simple phrase that now carries all the weight of a farewell.
Tony was grateful to have spent those last days with her before burying her, time he can never get back, but that he did not want to let slip away.