Nurmagomedov gives credit where credit is due, congratulates Ferguson on belt

Khabib offered up some kind words for Tony Ferguson following his UFC 216 win … and a veiled challenge.

Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov have a long history of almost fighting, so it’s understandable that the two don’t get along. But following Ferguson’s impressive win over Kevin Lee at UFC 216, the Degestani fighter reached out to Tony over social media to congratulate him on the win.

“Great performance, Tony Ferguson,” he wrote. “My congratulations. You deserve this belt.”

Great performance @TonyFergusonXT
My congratulations.
You deserve this belt.#December @ufc @danawhite

— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) October 8, 2017

Of course, he had an ulterior motive to the tweet, adding the hashtag #December and tagging the UFC and Dana White. That implies Nurmagomedov is hoping for next against Ferguson, and would be ready for December.

The UFC may not be interested in putting Khabib into another lightweight title match considering how seriously he screwed up his body trying to make weight the last time. We haven’t seen Nurmagomedov since March when he pulled out of UFC 209 the day before the event, and he’s been recovering from the stress he put his body ever since. If he’d been ready to fight for UFC 216, it would have been him and not Kevin Lee in the Octagon.

But we’ll happily take December for Nurmagomedov’s return, whoever it may be against. He might even be able to get himself back into the McGregor sweepstakes with a quick turnaround or two that doesn’t involve any hospital visits.

Khabib offered up some kind words for Tony Ferguson following his UFC 216 win … and a veiled challenge.

Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov have a long history of almost fighting, so it’s understandable that the two don’t get along. But following Ferguson’s impressive win over Kevin Lee at UFC 216, the Degestani fighter reached out to Tony over social media to congratulate him on the win.

“Great performance, Tony Ferguson,” he wrote. “My congratulations. You deserve this belt.”

Of course, he had an ulterior motive to the tweet, adding the hashtag #December and tagging the UFC and Dana White. That implies Nurmagomedov is hoping for next against Ferguson, and would be ready for December.

The UFC may not be interested in putting Khabib into another lightweight title match considering how seriously he screwed up his body trying to make weight the last time. We haven’t seen Nurmagomedov since March when he pulled out of UFC 209 the day before the event, and he’s been recovering from the stress he put his body ever since. If he’d been ready to fight for UFC 216, it would have been him and not Kevin Lee in the Octagon.

But we’ll happily take December for Nurmagomedov’s return, whoever it may be against. He might even be able to get himself back into the McGregor sweepstakes with a quick turnaround or two that doesn’t involve any hospital visits.