Tony Ferguson steps back into the ring on December 20, aiming to extend his professional boxing record to 2-0.The future UFC Hall of Famer faces British influencer Warren Spencer at Misfits Mania: The Night Before Christmas in Dubai, looking to continue the momentum from his debut stoppage win over social media star Salt Papi four months ago.Ferguson defends his new middleweight title in his second pro boxing bout on December 20GettyHe rolled back the years against all odds to stop Papi in round threeGettyWhile Spencer has told Ferguson to be ready for his best version yet, ‘El Cucuy’ knows there are levels to the fight game.Ferguson has pointed out several times that he is the true ‘athlete’ of the pair, and it’s difficult to argue against a resume that includes rounds with Nate Diaz, Justin Gaethje, and a prime Edson Barboza, to name a few.The 41-year-old remains confident about his next opponent, knowing that his December bout will not be the first time he’s been pushed to the limit.Speaking to talkSPORT.com, Ferguson opened up on the infamous ‘Hell Week’ he endured with retired Navy SEAL and ultra-marathon runner David Goggins ahead of his fight with Paddy Pimblett, almost exactly two years ago.Although Ferguson lost to Pimblett at UFC 296, the former interim UFC lightweight champion recognised a switch in his mentality from the camp, which he hopes will pay dividends in his new spell as a boxer.Tony Ferguson: David Goggins wanted to break me“I don’t think [Goggins] took me seriously,” Ferguson, who snapped an eight-fight losing skid in the UFC through his August triumph, said.Ferguson explained how he grew up wanting to join the military, and it was during his time at California State University, Bakersfield, that he signed up for the paratroopers.The paratroopers offered him a seven-day free jiu-jitsu pass, which ultimately pointed him in the direction of MMA, and the short week with Goggins marked somewhat of a full-circle moment for the California native.Ferguson added: “Now, I never knew about the boats, I never knew about the logs, I never knew about the books. I never knew about the running.”Goggins is famously linked to the phrase ‘Who’s gonna carry the boats?’ from his time training as a Navy SEAL. View this post on Instagram Goggins was in Ferguson’s corner for his defeat to Pimblett at UFC 296GettyHe recalls in his 2018 memoir Can’t Hurt Me using the phrase as motivation when leading his boat crew through excruciating training exercises.Ferguson continued: “I never knew anything about [Goggins]. I just knew he’s cool enough to send me a message, saying, ‘You’re a tough motherf*****,’ and people respected that.”How Goggins became aware of FergusonGoggins had caught wind of Ferguson before one of his UFC fights during the global pandemic, noticing a decline in the lightweight’s performance — something Ferguson himself admits.“He invites me out to his compound,” Ferguson explained.“I drive out there on that Monday. We had an initial briefing, he walked me through a couple of things, and we went to work immediately.“I had just drove probably four hours and then we worked for three hours — there was barely any time to bulls***.Ferguson filmed vomiting on a number of occasions during his ‘Hell Week’ with GogginsInstagram - @davidgogginsBut ‘El Cucuy’ found his old-self and a friend for life during the experienceInstagram - @davidgoggins“There was structuring, but there was no pamphlet on how to do these things. The blueprint and the pamphlet, in his mind, was breaking me.”“That was his job. There was no plan.”Some of Ferguson’s training included doing over 600 push-ups, one-mile lunges, jumping jacks, and chest exercises.‘El Cucuy’ threw up several times during his ‘Hell Week’, but insists he knew what he was getting himself into.“When you’re an athlete, and you know that you know what you’re getting yourself into… usually strength and conditioning people have a plan and they have it all tedious, this and that and everything,” Ferguson said.“A person who’s been through the wringer, they think they’re the f***ing boy. ‘I don’t write this s*** down. I know what f***ing works. I know what doesn’t work.’ “‘I know how to break you and I know how to build you, but you’re gonna have to build yourself because I’m here to break.’ Certain people have responsibilities, right?“And his responsibility was to go in there and bring the old me back through rigorous training and through mental prep. Not just the training.”Ferguson admitted that he probably should’ve done more stretching ahead of his week with Goggins, but the feeling after each session brought back fond memories.“I had never been to bed before 10 o’clock until that first day when I went through training,” he added.“It felt the coolest — I hadn’t had that feeling for so long, but I respected the s*** out of it that somebody had the balls to invite me and have follow-through.Ferguson has fought a who’s who of MMA greats in his fighting careerGetty Images - GettyHe felt things he hadn’t in so long when training with the ultra-endurance athlete, author and motivational speakerGetty“What he did was have follow-through, so I made sure I followed through with my part. “He told me a lot of athletes would try to negotiate with him. They would say, ‘How many are we gonna do? What are we gonna do next?’“I never said anything besides ‘Sir,’ and he clowned on me. He told me, ‘You said Sir probably a thousand times that whole week.’”All I ever wanted was relationship like with Goggins, says FergusonIt turns out the relationship Ferguson built with Goggins was something he’d been chasing his whole life.“You talk about a mile of walking lunges as our warm-up for the stair climber. It was nuts,” Ferguson exclaimed.“The cool thing was, before we would have our briefing, every morning, we’d watch a fight, and he’d say, ‘You see that guy?’ — I’m all bloody — ‘Where is that?’Ferguson endured a number of bruising and bloody fights throughout his MMA careerGetty“Like a big brother, a good coach, or somebody that has been through the s***.“I’ve been through a lot of s***. He’s been through a lot of s***, and to be able to relate to people who have been through the s*** to be able to make something amazing.“To move a plant to where it needs more light and nutrients in a certain thing and watch it grow. “That experience was f***ing amazing. It’s cool. I don’t have too much from that except for a bada** f***ing coin that I got. “All I ever wanted was something like that and that relationship. I asked him, ‘Compared to a lot of the Navy SEALs…’ He responded, ‘Tony, a lot of those guys are p*****s compared to your mentality.“They don’t have the same mentality. You’re different. You’re special on that. You need to make sure you take care of that,’ And I had that.“It took me a second to be able to get to that mentality again, but it’s through smart, rigorous work.“You can wish it, somebody can tell you it, but until you’re ready to accept it, and to have that follow-through, you ain’t gonna see you do s***.”Goggins has since put UFC middleweight Israel Adesanya through his paces in a scarily similar, sickening workout.Ferguson, meanwhile, is calling for as much activity as possible under the Misfits Boxing banner.He has, however, not ruled out a return to his beloved mixed martial arts in the future, having previously been signed to the GFL.Watch MF Mania – The Fight Before Christmas, exclusively on Rumble Premium on December 20