Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov wishes his arch-rival, Tony Ferguson good luck for his upcoming fight at UFC 262 but also told him that he looks like sh*t.
Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) and Tony Ferguson (25-5 MMA, 15-3 UFC) have one of the most notable rivalries in UFC history that never resulted in a fight. The pair were scheduled to share the octagon five times from 2015-2020, but each time something came up that prevented it from happening.
The last time the pair was signed to fight was at UFC 249. Viewed as two of the most dominant lightweight talents the division has ever had, Khabib and Ferguson, who were both riding, division-tying twelve-fight unbeaten streaks were paired together. With undisputed lightweight title spoils up for grabs, communications between Khabib and UFC officials seen the matchup scuppered as the Russian traveled home amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, with travel restrictions preventing his re-entry to the United States.
Tony Ferguson still wants to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov
Now Nurmagomedov is retired from the MMA competition, vacating the UFC lightweight title he held for multiple years. All signs point to him sticking true to his decision to hang up the gloves, meaning a fight with Ferguson will never materialize.
Still, though, that hasn’t stopped Ferguson from mentioning it and showing confidence he’ll eventually get his hands on Nurmagomedov (via Twitter):
“Tira🍮Misu On 2” 🏈 # You’ll SeeMeSoonEnoughBuddy ⚔️🕶 -CSO- 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 # 🔱 Called It. # ConditioningSucks # KeepRunningFathead -Champ 👣 pic.twitter.com/uKyAwTKcjC
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) March 31, 2021
“Tira🍮Misu On 2” 🏈 # You’ll SeeMeSoonEnoughBuddy ⚔️🕶 -CSO- 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 # 🔱 Called It. # ConditioningSucks # KeepRunningFathead -Champ 👣”
It’s not the first time Ferguson has gone after Nurmagomedov online since his final fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in September. “The Eagle” has remained quiet in response to his rival, but on Wednesday Khabib made Tony realize he has other problems and fighters to look forward to instead of chasing Khabib who is long gone from fighting.
Ferguson has a critical fight in his career booked against Beneil Dariush at UFC 262 on May 15 in Houston. “El Cucuy” enters the bout on a two-fight losing skid, and if the former interim lightweight titleholder wants to reclaim his former glory, a win is a must.
You have a fight soon, your opponent is very tough and most underestimated in lightweight division, focus on him. I wish you and your family best, even though you look like a shit.
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) March 31, 2021
“You fight soon, your opponent is very tough and most underestimated in the lightweight division, focus on him. I wish you and your family the best, even though you look like shit,” Nurmagomedov tweeted.
Justin Gaethje ended Tony Ferguson’s 12-fight win streak when the two men faced each other at UFC 249. Although, a case could be made that the extra weight cut could have severely affected his performance. However, when ‘El Cucuy’ lost to Charles Oliveira, everyone realized that the old Tony might be gone and now he needs to find his course back to the top of the lightweight division. Oliveira dominated him for 15 minutes and almost secured a submission at one point as well.
On the other hand, Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 to defend his lightweight title. Before that, he also submitted Poirier and McGregor to defend his lightweight strap. Following the win over Gaethje, “The Eagle” retired from the sport, and just recently, White acknowledged the retirement and made it clear to the MMA community that Khabib won’t be fighting anymore.
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