Tag: Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee

Quote: Conor McGregor Could Be Better Than Tony Ferguson On The Ground

With the MMA world awaiting UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor’s UFC return, the general consensus is that the polarizing Irishman will face interim champion Tony Ferguson when he does set foot back in the cage. The initial thought was that the UFC would book McGregor’s foregone conclusion of a trilogy bout with Nate Diaz, but […]

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With the MMA world awaiting UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor’s UFC return, the general consensus is that the polarizing Irishman will face interim champion Tony Ferguson when he does set foot back in the cage.

The initial thought was that the UFC would book McGregor’s foregone conclusion of a trilogy bout with Nate Diaz, but fan interest in terms of a meritocracy standpoint – at least in the minds of hardcore MMA fans – has seemingly shifted that focus to a bout with “El Cucuy.”

With much of the MMA world screaming for McGregor to finally defend one of his titles, even ‘The Notorious’ himself has admitted it’s time to “legitimize the rankings,” which suggests a bout with Ferguson is next up for the UFC’s biggest superstar. So with that match seemingly on the horizon, discussion about the fight’s outcome is beginning to surface in the fight world.

That was the case when McGregor’s training partner and Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom Dillon Danis met up with Submission Radio (via Bloody Elbow) recently, where the outspoken grappler revealed his thoughts that McGregor would match or even surpass Ferguson on the ground despite the interim champion’s stellar reputation for finishing fights by submission:

“I don’t know what people judge that of off. I don’t know why they would say he has a superior advantage on the ground or stuff like that. People don’t even know what Conor’s Jiu Jitsu is like.

“So, with me training with Conor so much in his Jiu Jitsu, I feel like he’ll be fine on the ground or even better (than Ferguson).”

That may be a tough sell, but many are giving McGregor a clear edge on the feet – and justifiably so – as Ferguson has shown a penchant for sticking his chin high up in the air during his fights. With a solid chin, he takes a shot to land one or two of his own, but Danis said that’s path to certain demise against McGregor:

“I think Conor’s going to pick him apart on the feet, most likely knock him out early or he can probably do whatever he wants with him. Tony’s very sloppy. If you watch his fights, he gets hit a lot, and when you get hit against Conor you go out.”

As for whether or not the fight will happen, Danis believes it will, as Ferguson’s recent callout online has McGregor wanting to shut his mouth:

“I would think Tony Ferguson next because he won and Conor is gonna defend the belt and stuff like that. And me knowing Conor, Tony Ferguson is talking a lot of shit and I know Conor is gonna wanna shut him up. So I can see that happening.”

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Report: Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Next Fight Set For UFC 219

Top-ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov may have wanted to reschedule his interim title bout with Tony Ferguson for his long-awaited return, but apparently, the UFC has other plans. No. 3-ranked Edson Barboza just revealed during a Q&A session at this weekend’s UFC Sao Paulo (via MMA Fighting) that he is supposedly taking on Nurmagomedov at December […]

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Top-ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov may have wanted to reschedule his interim title bout with Tony Ferguson for his long-awaited return, but apparently, the UFC has other plans.

No. 3-ranked Edson Barboza just revealed during a Q&A session at this weekend’s UFC Sao Paulo (via MMA Fighting) that he is supposedly taking on Nurmagomedov at December 30’s UFC 219 pay-per-view (PPV) event from Las Vegas:

“I just got the news a few minutes ago that my next fight will be on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas against Khabib Nurmagomedov. I’m really happy with this opportunity. It’s going to be a war.”

The UFC has not yet made the bout official.

Nurmagomedov has been out of action since stopping longtime contender Michael Johnson at last November’s UFC 205. He was scheduled to take on Ferguson for the interim lightweight belt at March’s UFC 209, but some serious issues with his weight cut left him out of action for the entirety of 2017 thus far.

Out of action dealing with injuries since his “Knockout of the Year” candidate versus Beneil Dariush last March, Barboza has won three straight bouts since losing to Ferguson in an all-out battle in late 2015, making his potential match-up with Nurmagomedov a clear title eliminator.

That is, in a UFC division where Conor McGregor isn’t the champ.

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Conor McGregor Favored Against Tony Ferguson & Nate Diaz

Conor McGregor’s anticipated MMA return currently remains unknown during a time when the UFC needs him most. The most likely candidates are obviously interim champion Tony Ferguson and Nate Diaz, as “The Notorious” recently called out “El Cucuy” online while a third match-up with Diaz will always loom large as a massive financial windfall until […]

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Conor McGregor’s anticipated MMA return currently remains unknown during a time when the UFC needs him most.

The most likely candidates are obviously interim champion Tony Ferguson and Nate Diaz, as “The Notorious” recently called out “El Cucuy” online while a third match-up with Diaz will always loom large as a massive financial windfall until it inevitably happens.

McGregor could go either way for his next fight, or he could come out of left field with something else altogether. But Ferguson and Diaz are the most probable opponents for the UFC megastar, and online betting site Bovada (via Bloody Elbow) has released some early odds for both prospective bouts should they become a reality.

According to their early odds, McGregor is a favorite against both opponents, coming in at -165 versus the streaking +135 underdog Ferguson, who has won an unheard-of 10 straight fights in the deeply talented UFC lightweight division capped off by his latest interim title-sealing win over Kevin Lee at October 7’s UFC 216. Diaz, meanwhile, who hasn’t fought since he lost a close decision to McGregor at UFC 202, is a bigger underdog, rating at +195 to McGregor’s -250.

McGregor famously lost to Diaz via second-round submission in their historic first match at March 2016’s UFC 196, inciting arguably the most popular rivalry in MMA history. The rematch did even bigger numbers, but Diaz may have lost a bit of steam after staying out of action while McGregor signed onto and participated in his circus of a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather last August, which he ultimately lost by 10th-round TKO.

He’s also been reported to want upwards of $20-30 million for the fight, a figure even McGregor proclaimed may price him out of the fight.

The majority of hardcore MMA fans seem to want McGregor to finally defend his lightweight title against a true top contender, which Ferguson no doubt is as the interim champ. “The Notorious” has also teased he would defend the belt, which he has not done since winning his first UFC title in 2015, to “legitimize the rankings.”

Do you agree with the odds as they are now, or should Ferguson and Diaz be given more of a chance versus the Irish megastar?

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Khabib Says Kevin Lee ‘Gave Up’ Against Tony Ferguson

Top-ranked UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov has been out of action since last November’s UFC 205, but ‘The Eagle’ is finally healed up from his latest set of ailments and looking to return to the Octagon. The brutalizing grappler was set to take on current interim champion Tony Ferguson for the second-place title at March’s UFC […]

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Top-ranked UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov has been out of action since last November’s UFC 205, but ‘The Eagle’ is finally healed up from his latest set of ailments and looking to return to the Octagon.

The brutalizing grappler was set to take on current interim champion Tony Ferguson for the second-place title at March’s UFC 209, but a failed weight cut forced him out of the bout and into the hospital. He was reportedly offered yet another booking versus Ferguson at October 7’s UFC 216, but the lasting effects of the draining cut coupled with a back surgery left him unable to compete yet again.

So Ferguson fought Kevin Lee for the interim lightweight title instead, and despite a harrowingly difficult weight cut of his own, ‘The Motown Phenom’ was able to use his size and strength to ground Ferguson and rain down some significant damage in the first two rounds. In the third, however, Lee clearly tired from the staph infection that had plagued his cut and succumbed to a triangle choke from Ferguson.

Nurmagomedov is back making the media rounds, and he told Ariel Helwani on this week’s episode of “The MMA Hour” that Lee lost the fight because he fought like a ‘chicken’ and ‘gave up’:

“I think [Ferguson] won because Kevin Lee was fighting with him like chicken. That’s why he won. [Lee] talked too much. He was not focused on the fight; he was focused on, I think, promoting the fight. When the fight was beginning, first round, [Lee] beat [Ferguson], and second round, [Lee] stayed with him in his distance, he ate a lot of jabs, and third round, he gave up, because he doesn’t have conditioning. That’s why.”

Photo Credit: Joshua Dahl for USA TODAY Sports

There’s no doubting Lee did gas at UFC 216, as he admitted as much in between the second and third rounds. Khabib believes this would never happen to him, and the gameplan to beating a rangy, unorthodox striker like Ferguson is to get in his face and take him down, something that Lee was having success with early.

The difference according to ‘The Eagle’ is that he will never tire nor get submitted, a belief he insisted his AKA teammates Daniel Cormier and Luke Rockhold would attest to:

“(Rafael) dos Anjos and Kevin Lee fought with him at his distance. That’s why these guys [lost to] him,” Nurmagomedov said. “But what happens if Ferguson fights a fighter like me, who all the time tries to take him down, smash him on the ground, and never, never stop? All my life, in my amateur career, professional 24 fights, I never tire. Never, ever. In training, amateur fights, and professional fights, I never get tired.

“All my life, I never tire, I never lose, and I never give up. In training, in amateur fights, in professional fights, I’ve never given up. Never. Nobody has choked me, nobody has submitted me. Never, ever, in all my life. I’m training with a lot of fighters from different weight classes — heavyweight, welterweight, lightweight. You can ask ‘DC,’ you can ask Luke Rockhold, all fighters: I never give up and I never get tired. This is what I want to say about this.”

Few doubt Nurmagomedov’s sheer grappling advantage over any lightweight in MMA right now, but the 24-0 Dagestani’s problems have always been outside of the cage, as a long list of injuries and weight-cutting issues have limited him to just two fights in the last three years.

But in spite of those problems, he believes he’s in a similar spot as to where he was at around this time last year, where he beat Michael Johnson handily at UFC 205 and was headed for a bout with Ferguson to find out who would fight Conor McGregor for the title. He’s confident he can get both fights, but admitted he needs to keep his weight in check more this time around:

“It’s a very tough sport. Nobody knows (what happens behind the scenes).

“Last time when I had to fight with Tony, I thought, ‘I’m confident 100 percent the fight will happen, and I have to beat Tony to take the belt, and then at the end of the year I’m going to fight with Conor.’ But everybody knows what happened. And now I have the same feeling. I have the same feeling, and next time I have to stay a little bit careful, more control my weight, more control my health and my everything.”

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Patrick Cummins Posts Pic Of Disgusting ‘Mutant’ Staph Infection

The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) may have come under fire recently for allowing Kevin Lee to compete at October 7’s UFC 216 with an obvious staph infection, but the state of New York won’t be having any similar problems with light heavyweight Patrick Cummins. Cummins announced on social media (via MMA Fighting) that he had […]

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The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) may have come under fire recently for allowing Kevin Lee to compete at October 7’s UFC 216 with an obvious staph infection, but the state of New York won’t be having any similar problems with light heavyweight Patrick Cummins.

Cummins announced on social media (via MMA Fighting) that he had acquired a ‘mutant’ staph infection that was so resilient even IV antibiotics would not kill it, making it impossible for him to make it to his scheduled bout against Corey Anderson at November 4’s UFC 217 from New York City. The infection was so bad his foot swelled up to almost twice normal size.

Check it out here:

It’s a significant setback for ‘Durkin,’ who rebounded from two TKO losses to Glover Teixeira and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira to win decisions over Gian Villante and Jan Blachowicz in his last two bouts.

In a division as talent-starved as light heavyweight, title contention is truly only a few wins away, but Cummins will obviously need his foot to go back to normal size before he can even consider a return.

Based on the toughness he’s displayed in the octagon since debuting as a late replacement for Rashad Evans in 2014, he should be back sooner than later.

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NSAC Stands By Decision To Let Kevin Lee Fight At UFC 216

Not surprisingly, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) won’t give any weight to the notion that UFC lightweight Kevin Lee, who barely made weight and apparently had a significant staph infection heading into his interim title bout with Tony Ferguson at last night’s UFC 216 from Las Vegas, maybe shouldn’t have been allowed to fight. […]

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Not surprisingly, the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) won’t give any weight to the notion that UFC lightweight Kevin Lee, who barely made weight and apparently had a significant staph infection heading into his interim title bout with Tony Ferguson at last night’s UFC 216 from Las Vegas, maybe shouldn’t have been allowed to fight.

After a harrowing scene at the UFC 216 early weigh-ins on Friday where “The Motown Phenom” missed weight on his first attempt before making it at the last minute after he was given one hour to lose a pound, Octagon commentator Joe Rogan immediately noticed that Lee had a large staph infection on his chest when he got into the cage to fight “El Cucuy.”

The ailment almost certainly played into his difficult weight cut, and it also may have caused him to tire earlier than normal as it drained his body. Indeed he faded a bit in the third round after an impressive start to the interim title fight, ultimately losing to a Ferguson triangle choke. But NSAC executive director Bob Bennett stood by the commission’s decision to let Lee fight, telling MMA Fighting today that two of doctors deemed him medically able to compete:

“My lead ringside physician found Lee medically fit to fight,” Bennett said. “He was examined by our lead ringside physician, along with another ringside physician. Both felt he was medically fit to fight.”

Joshua Dahl for USA TODAY Sports

As for the staph infection, Lee admitted that he tried to hide it for as long as possible because after so many high-profile bouts had fallen through at the last minute for the UFC recently, he was motivated to show up and fight in his:

“I tried my best to hide it,” Lee said.“You know, it’s a big event, a lot has been happening with the UFC, these last couple events and I wasn’t going to let nobody down. I worked my whole life for this, it was like a culmination of things. But I’m not going to let this stop me.”

Lee revealed to Rogan that he should most likely have been on antibiotics in the days before UFC 216, and even though the weight cut ended up brutally tiring on him, he was going to do whatever it took to make weight for his hyped bout with Ferguson:

“It was what it was,” Lee said. “I was going to make the weight, even if I had to cut my foot off or something. I said it before, it damn near killed me and I had to do what I had to do. I had a job to do, I’m a professional and I’m going to come out here no matter how bad it hurts. I’m going to come out here and I feel like I put my best performance on tonight, but by the third round it was too much for me.”

Based on the severity of the weight cut, ‘The Motown Phenom’ teased a move up to welterweight for future bouts, something that has proved fruitful for other contenders who have stopped depleting their bodies to the limit in order to gain a size advantage.

But if you ask the NSAC, there wasn’t anything wrong that should have raised suspicion – even if he fought another human with an obvious infection. Should the commission thought longer about allowing him to compete?

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