Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
“I want to say f-ck Khabib. I’m defending my belt for the third time. This is for the real belt. This is not for an interim title”.
Tony Ferguson has just about heard enough of Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Both men were expected to meet in the UFC 249 main event last month but Khabib was forced to withdraw from the event due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
This is now the fifth time the fight has been cancelled and, as far as Ferguson is concerned, his last minute interim lightweight title bout with Justin Gaethje on May 9 will be for ‘the real championship’.
“F*ck Khabib. I’m going to be real,” Ferguson said told MMA Fighting during the UFC 249 conference call on Tuesday. “I want to say f*ck Khabib. I’m defending my belt for the third time. This is for the real belt. This is not for an interim title. This is for the real championship sh*t. It’s champ sh*t only, buddy.
“That dude’s a b*tch. I’m going to be real. Him and McNuggets (Conor McGregor). They both need to f*cking retire. The only two real men out there are going to be me and Justin Gaethje. American motherf*ckers.”
UFC president Dana White has stated that the winner of Ferguson vs. Gaethje will go on to face Nurmagomedov in a title unification bout sometime later this year.
UFC 249: Ferguson vs. Gaethje takes place this Saturday, May 9, at the VyState Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.