Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Khabib says he can leave Russia to fight at UFC 249 if the promotion give him a location for the card.
The confusion around UFC 249 continues as Khabib Nurmagomedov has explained he hasn’t withdrawn from the event, and will still fight Tony Ferguson if the UFC gives him a location for the card.
Earlier this week, the UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov issued a statement saying he was “upset” about having to withdraw from UFC 249. UFC president Dana White reacted to this news by claiming that “everyone knew” Khabib wasn’t fighting on the card, given the travel ban issued by Russia which allows anyone from leaving or entering the country.
Talking to Brett Okamoto of ESPN, Khabib explained his initial comments about withdrawing from the card.
Khabib Nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) saying he never said he was out of 249, he just isn’t going to fly anywhere when he doesn’t know where he’s flying to. He also doesn’t believe getting out of Russia is as simple as others suggest. pic.twitter.com/pf5RSiwemG
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 2, 2020
“Right now, if they give me location I can come out of Russia and go into any countries. U.S, Abu Dhabi, doesn’t matter I’m going to fight 100%. Just send me location,” Khabib said. “Everyday I send Dana White a message saying, “Hey, where’s my location?” This is not my mistake. There’s too much crazy stuff, too many questions, I don’t have an answer.
Ferguson spoke recently about he feels Khabib “bailed out” of the fight by travelling back to Russia before the travel ban was put in place in the country. The lightweight champ continued by implying he could have taken a rematch with chicken [Conor McGregor], but instead he wanted to pursue the “dream fight” with Ferguson.
“I understand people are upset because this fight is like dream fight for fans. This is my dream fight. I lose money, I lose so much money. Nobody lose like I lose. I wanna fight because this is a hard and legacy fight. Biggest fight in UFC right now. Of course, I can chose easy fight with chicken, but I chose hard fight. Everything that’s happening I can’t control this.”