Tag: Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Conor McGregor Reacts To Max Holloway’s UFC 222 Pullout

The MMA world was dealt collective disappointment yesterday when word arrived that UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway had been forced out of his scheduled UFC 222 main event versus Frankie Edgar. The tough-as-nails champion wanted to fight no matter what, detailing what he said would go through in order to meet Edgar in a month’s […]

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The MMA world was dealt collective disappointment yesterday when word arrived that UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway had been forced out of his scheduled UFC 222 main event versus Frankie Edgar.

The tough-as-nails champion wanted to fight no matter what, detailing what he said would go through in order to meet Edgar in a month’s time. But ultimately he simply could not compete in the alotted timeframe.

The UFC set out to replace the March 3 fight card’s main event with two high-profile bouts, seeking to book bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw against former teammate Cody Garbrandt in a rematch of their UFC 217 affair with Edgar then taking on surging contender Brian Ortega in the co-main.

Dillashaw turned the bout down, however, citing the birth of his child and lack of training before mocking ‘No Love’ with a brutal photo from his knockout win last November.

And it remains an uncertain spot for the promotion and the rapidly-approaching event, but the mocking surrounding the card didn’t stop there. UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor got in on the action by trolling Holloway with a photo from his 2013 win over “Blessed”:

When there is no referee to save you.

A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on

‘The Notorious’ loves to rub salt in the wounds of his former opponents, yet it’s understandable if fans asked whether he should be doing so with his fighting future still very much up in the air as he acts a fool with his newfound mega-riches from boxing Floyd Mayweather.

This injury is bad timing for Holloway for sure, but the young Hawaiian has been a model of consistency for the UFC during his rise to championship status. He’s also stated he’s willing to take on any and all comers as champion, something that would most likely be true if he wasn’t hurt.

The same simply cannot be said for McGregor, who campaigned for a UFC bout versus Mayweather this week rather than a title defense against the winner of Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Is it time for McGregor to stop kicking willing fighters while they’re down and get back to fighting in MMA himself? Did that time pass long ago?

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Pic: UFC 223 Poster Suggests It’s For ‘World Lightweight Championship’

Everyone remotely associated with MMA is looking forward to the Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov main event at April 7’s UFC 223 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York – even if they don’t which version of the lightweight title will be on the line. Of course Ferguson is the interim champion as Conor […]

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Everyone remotely associated with MMA is looking forward to the Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov main event at April 7’s UFC 223 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York – even if they don’t which version of the lightweight title will be on the line.

Of course Ferguson is the interim champion as Conor McGregor drags his feet in deciding or announcing his long-awaited comeback, but the very real possibility of “The Notorious” never coming back after his $100 million payday to box Floyd Mayweather last year has the UFC is the precarious position of having to potentially strip their biggest star of a title again.

Yet they won’t come out and say it, as Dana White danced around the question when asked at a UFC 220 media event last month, giving his predictable and tiresome ‘we’ll see what happens’ in response. The situation was only clouded when White said the winner of Ferguson vs. Khabib would ‘be the champion,’ but gave no indication of what they would decide for McGregor.

With speculation running wild that they will strip him of a second title, the recently released UFC 223 poster may be an indication of those plans. Based on a photo of the poster released last night, the UFC 223 main event will be for the ‘world lightweight championship’ – not interim – suggesting McGregor would be stripped by fight time. Check it out:

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Conor McGregor Slams Floyd Mayweather For Stepping Into MMA Cage

Earlier today, ‘retired’ boxing legend Floyd Mayweather set the collective online mixed martial arts world ablaze after he posted a video of him briefly stepping into an MMA cage, prompting speculation that the UFC debut he shot down late last year could actually happen. It’s unlikely to happen, but if he were to make his […]

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Earlier today, ‘retired’ boxing legend Floyd Mayweather set the collective online mixed martial arts world ablaze after he posted a video of him briefly stepping into an MMA cage, prompting speculation that the UFC debut he shot down late last year could actually happen.

It’s unlikely to happen, but if he were to make his MMA debut against say, former boxing rival Conor McGregor, it may just become the biggest over-the-top scene in the history of MMA – if not combat sports as a whole.

So with the prospect of another record-setting purse (after his first one to box Mayweather has kept him on the sidelines and not defending his UFC belt) in plain view, McGregor was quick to respond to ‘Money’s’ short video on Twitter, laughing at his old foe by calling him his ‘son’ and signing off as ‘Senior’:

Standard operating procedure for “The Notorious,” whose future still remains unknown even though the MMA universe is crying for him to finally defend a UFC title – something he hasn’t done a single time since winning the featherweight title in December 2015.

It’s clear he’s all about the money, and it’s tough to blame him considering this is prizefighting, after all, but if McGregor truly just wants to take ‘money’ fights and never defend his belt, then the UFC owes it to the rest of the lightweight division to strip him and let them continue trying to further their careers.

That would open up a path for McGregor to potentially fight Mayweather in the octagon, something that seems highly unlikely due to the fact most believe ‘Money’ would get destroyed in MMA just like McGregor was stopped in the boxing ring.

The immediate fashion in which McGregor responded makes it seem like the UFC could be working on something in that regard, and it would probably be the Irishman’s first choice for his return if it were indeed a viable option.

For the sake of MMA purists everywhere, let’s hope it is not.

In today’s spectacle-focused era under Endeavor (formerly WME-IMG), it may be, however, so don’t be surprised if this topic heats up quite a bit in the next few days.

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Manager Hints Khabib May Say ‘Bye Bye’ After Beating Ferguson & McGregor

Although interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson will take on top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of April 7’s UFC 223, the MMA community is still awaiting undisputed lightweight champ Conor McGregor’s next move. Dana White and the UFC have remained coy on the subject, saying that the winner of Ferguson and Khabib would […]

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Although interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson will take on top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of April 7’s UFC 223, the MMA community is still awaiting undisputed lightweight champ Conor McGregor’s next move.

Dana White and the UFC have remained coy on the subject, saying that the winner of Ferguson and Khabib would be ‘the champion’ but refusing to say that McGregor had been officially stripped of his title.

It’s prompted widespread speculation if McGregor will ever return to the octagon, and indeed many believe he may not return after making $100 million to box Floyd Mayweather last year, but in a recent interview with TMZ Sports (via Bloody Elbow), Khabib’s manager Ali Abdelaziz said his star would finish Ferguson, pick up a win over McGregor, and retire undefeated:

“We’re gonna beat Tony. We’re gonna stop Tony in three rounds. Khabib’s probably gonna retire undefeated because he’s gonna beat Conor, he’s gonna beat Tony, and he’s probably gonna say ‘Bye-bye.’”

As for just when he might meet McGregor after finally fighting Ferguson, Abdelaziz said Khabib would make McGregor wait to face him, just as he has the rest of the division:

“Khabib said he’s gonna make the motherf**ker wait,” said Abdelaziz. “That’s what he told me, word for word. ‘When I beat Tony, Conor’s got to get in line or he can go fight Nate Diaz or somebody and make some money.’ [Khabib] said he’s gonna make the division right. At the end of the day, he said Conor’s gonna have to beg.

Nurmagomedov turning down a fight with McGregor if he beats Ferguson is a highly unlikely scenario, however, as it would be the biggest fight in MMA right now and perhaps one of the biggest all-time, making any unnecessary waiting a ridiculous proposition – especially considering Nurmagomedov’s never-ending issues with injuries.

So even though it probably won’t happen, Abdelaziz insisted it will because McGregor should have fought his top client in Russia later this year like he said he was going to:

“On April 7, El Cucuy’s gonna get an ass-whooping and maybe Conor, maybe we’ll give him a crack. You see all his b**ch-ass coaches saying ‘Oh, Conor will knock out Khabib in the first round.’ Motherf**ker, you should have fought Khabib when you were supposed to fight him, when you said you wanted to fight him in Russia!”

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Kevin Lee Predicts Winner Of Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Since dropping a third-round submission to Tony Ferguson in an interim lightweight title bout this past October, Kevin Lee has made it clear that he’s taking some time off to switch some things around regarding his training and lifestyle. Ferguson, however, is preparing to return to the Octagon, as it was recently announced that he […]

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Since dropping a third-round submission to Tony Ferguson in an interim lightweight title bout this past October, Kevin Lee has made it clear that he’s taking some time off to switch some things around regarding his training and lifestyle.

Ferguson, however, is preparing to return to the Octagon, as it was recently announced that he would be taking on Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 223 on April 7, 2018 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Recently speaking on that fight, Lee said that he thinks Ferguson will get passed Nurmagomedov before beating ‘the hell out of’ undisputed champion Conor McGregor:

“Khabib’s the number one contender, and Conor’s sitting on the outside for that,” Lee told BJPenn.com. “I don’t know. I like that [Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov] fight. I think that fight’s a lot more interesting than people give it credit for. I don’t know. I think Tony will be better all around, and be able to wear down on Khabib, and then he’ll go out there, he’ll beat the hell out of Conor, and I think I’m [going to] squeeze my way up in there one way or another.”

As for Lee, “The Motown Phenom” admits that he’ll be keeping a close eye on how the 155-pound title picture shakes out, although he is focused on landing a rematch with Ferguson at some point:

“It’s going to be interesting,” he said. “That’s why I’ve been sitting back, trying to see how this whole thing shakes out, and get in where I do. Yeah, right now, like I said, I’m sitting on it. I’m getting a lot of different looks, changing up a lot of stuff. We’ll see where it’s going to land. We’ll see where it’s going. I don’t know. I’m looking to those three. Those are the big three. Ferguson right now is the one that I’m really gunning for, and I realize that it’s a good three wins away from that, but we going to see.”

Who do you expect to come out on top when Ferguson and Nurmagomedov finally meet in New York?

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Tony Ferguson Claims He Was Offered Conor McGregor Fight

Interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson will be finally fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov at April’s UFC 223 from Brooklyn, but he claims that wasn’t the original idea. Ferguson revealed at today’s UFC 25th Anniversary Series press conference from Boston that Conor McGregor was offered a fight against him, but he declined to do so. McGregor hasn’t fought […]

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Interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson will be finally fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov at April’s UFC 223 from Brooklyn, but he claims that wasn’t the original idea.

Ferguson revealed at today’s UFC 25th Anniversary Series press conference from Boston that Conor McGregor was offered a fight against him, but he declined to do so. McGregor hasn’t fought or defended his title since winning it in 2016:

“Well they offered me Conor; Conor didn’t want to fight. So I wanna fight people that actually wanna sit there and fight, I’m not gonna beg somebody to go there and fight.

“This is the real belt; I’ve fought 10 fights. You guys all watched ’em. If not, you’re a casual. Go watch my fights, you’ll see exactly why I have this belt. I am the champ.”

“El Cucuy” stated that McGregor’s time was done and he was actually defending ‘his’ title to predictable boos from the many McGregor fans:

“Conor McNuggets is nothing, he’s lost his sauce. And this is defend or vacate. This is, right here, I’m defending my belt. My belt, I’m defending.”

Also at the press conference, UFC president Dana White didn’t say McGregor was stripped of the title but did provide a confusing bit of runaround by claiming Ferguson Vs. Nurmagomedov would be for the real lightweight title.

“I have no update. The winner of Khabib-Ferguson will be the champion.

“They’re going to fight for the real title. This is the real title. I said that Conor can’t hold up the title for two years.”

If what White says is true, the ‘real’ lightweight champion will be determined at UFC 223 in April, yet we’ve seen him say one thing and do the exact opposite or many more than one occasion. Ferguson won the interim belt after submitting Kevin Lee at UFC 216 while McGregor has remained MIA.

McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh has been doing his best to keep “The Notorious’” name in the mix; however, there has been no word or confirmation on McGregor’s next fight, or if he will fight again at all. McGregor notoriously made nearly $100 million in his boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather in August, and is financially set  for the foreseeable future.

Do you believe McGregor turned down a fight with Ferguson? If so, does he deserve to be stripped of the title?

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