Bad luck has hit the UFC again, and in the most unlikely manner ever.
Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov is off UFC 223 after a knee injury suffered by Ferguson in the most ridiculous manner. Training accidents happen. Weight cut problems arise. But when’s the last time a fight (never mind a fight this highly anticipated) was called off because a fighter took a goofy step in the wrong direction?
I’m told the injury to Tony Ferguson was literally caused by a trip. The freak accident of all freak accidents. He was walking, saw someone he wasn’t expecting to see, veered sharply to say hello and tripped.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 1, 2018
”I’m told the injury to Tony Ferguson was literally caused by a trip,” ESPN’s Brett Okamoto tweeted. “The freak accident of all freak accidents. He was walking, saw someone he wasn’t expecting to see, veered sharply to say hello and tripped.”
Okamoto was the one who broke the news of Ferguson being off UFC 223 with an interview of Dana White, so we imagine he’s a pretty reliable source regarding this particular injury.
Ferguson himself went on Twitter to elaborate in a statement, saying “As I was completing my UFC pre-fight media obligations on Friday I had an accident on a studio set that tore a ligament in my knee.”
The injury itself occurred on Thursday, with doctors confirming on Sunday that it was too serious for Ferguson to compete with.
What a crazy situation! Ferguson vs. Khabib was already considered one of the most cursed fights in the history of combat sports, and it’ll be hard for a fight to top it at this point. Hell, it was going to be hard to top it the moment Khabib fell out of UFC 209 on the day of weigh-ins. This is a match up that will go down in infamy.
As a slight consolation, featherweight champ Max Holloway will be stepping up on six days notice to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title. If Khabib manages to make weight, that is. With the way luck has been shaking out for the UFC, we wouldn’t be surprised if a Chinese space station ended up falling on the Dagestani fighter before he makes it into the cage.