One thing that Tony Ferguson has made clear during his UFC career is that, the former interim lightweight champion isn’t fond of the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) fighters, including Daniel Cormier and former rival Khabib Nurmagomedov as well.
However, when it comes to Khabib’s teammate and fellow lightweight star Islam Makhachev, Ferguson has a different take, as he calls Islam “different” from the rest of the AKA roster, which he respects.
Tony Ferguson says he “respects” Makhachev for being different
Even though their fight never became a reality, Ferguson vs Khabib had been one of the most fierce rivalries in the UFC. However, speaking on The MMA Hour last month, “El Cucuy” discussed about potentially ending the strife with the Dagestani, but admitted that he will banter around regarding one of Khabib’s controversial weigh-ins, which in Ferguson’s words was cheating.
“I’ll joke around and I’m going to continue to joke around because that’s how I am with my stuff. Because, you know, obviously, he [Khabib] cheated on the scale too over there,” said Ferguson.
All that being said, the former interim lightweight champ did show his respect towards Islam Makhachev- one of Khabib’s closest companions, saying that Islam is different, even though Ferguson’s opinion towards “The Eagle” has not changed.
“But it’s one of those AKA things where they do that, and they get away with it. With Makhachev, he’s different. He’s different. I got respect for that,” Ferguson went on, “So, out of everything, and all due respect, I’m still giving Khabib the finger, but until that day when we do shake hands like man — maybe it’ll never happen, so, props.” [H/T MMAnews.com]
Ferguson also recently went onto Twitter to state that he can defeat former adversary Charles Oliveira in a rematch, claiming that he didn’t train properly before their first fight which took place at UFC 256 back in December 2020.
What do you think of Tony Ferguson saying Islam Makhachev as different from other AKA fighters? Let us know in the comment section below.
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