The Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov rivalry lives on!
Well, at least in “El Cucuy’s” mind. In fact, Ferguson is currently preparing himself for a potential coaching gig opposite the lightweight “Eagle” for an upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) combat sports reality show, perhaps taking this recent comment at face value.
“We got the green light,” Ferguson told reporters at the UFC 279 media day. “We’re waiting on Khabib’s fat ass. We got the green light from the brass, went and talked to them, got the green light from his coach, we got the green light from his agent. The reality? We’re just waiting for Khabib’s fat ass. He’s the one that’s scared. Regardless of whether or not it’s a fight we’ll go and make it entertaining. He’ll break before the fighters. I’ve still got some material I haven’t used yet so I’m just waiting for that day.”
Hopefully that brings an end to this tired joke.
I guess now would be a good time to mention that Nurmagomedov retired back in late 2020 and despite the persistence of promotion president Dana White, the 33 year-old “Eagle” has no plans to compete after the death of his father, who also served as his head coach back in Dagestan.
“I am the one to get him out of retirement,” Ferguson continued. “That’s dude’s not retired. When it comes down to it, when you lose somebody you have to take some time off, do whatever you have to do, but his father had said the fight to make would be myself and Khabib. Before he passed away, he did say that and Khabib has that in his mindset.”
None of this matters unless Ferguson, who’s mired in a four-fight losing streak, is able to blast his way back into the win column as part of the UFC 279 pay-per-view (PPV) fight card this Sat. night (Sept. 10, 2022) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. That’s where “El Cucuy” returns to welterweight opposite 170-pound bruiser Li Jingliang.
For much more on that upcoming showdown click here.