Undefeated UFC lightweight prospect Khabib Nurmagomedov has long been pegged for great things in the world’s largest proving ground for martial artists. It looked briefly as though his hopes were wavering during his unfortunate spree of injuries, but thankfully the Sambo specialist had guys like Dominick Cruz to inspire him during that dark patch. Having
Undefeated UFC lightweight prospect Khabib Nurmagomedov has long been pegged for great things in the world’s largest proving ground for martial artists. It looked briefly as though his hopes were wavering during his unfortunate spree of injuries, but thankfully the Sambo specialist had guys like Dominick Cruz to inspire him during that dark patch. Having been out of action for two years since his dominant win over current lightweight boss Rafael dos Anjos in 2014, ‘The Eagle’ was set to finally face his rival Tony Ferguson this weekend.
Then in a sad twist of fate, ‘El Cucuy’ pulled out injured and Nurmagomedov was instead slated to face Darrell Horcher at UFC on FOX 19. Since that time Ferguson had asked ‘The Eagle’ to wait and fight him in May, which didn’t appeal to Nrumagomedov, as he told MMAFighting.com yesterday:
“He’s running, that’s why my face isn’t on the poster any more. I’m here, he called me out, and now he pulled out. He asked me to wait, I can’t wait two more months, I trained to fight here. My plan is to fight in April and September, I can’t let Ferguson make my plans, Tony can’t talk about me, when you pull out you have to stay quiet. I didn’t ask Tony to wait when the UFC put him against Edson Barboza, this is stupid.”
“He’s injured, he pulled out, I’m here, where is Tony? I have to focus on Horcher, please forget about Tony. I like this atmosphere, I’ve finally come back.”
In terms of competition elsewhere in the UFC lightweight division, Nurmagomedov is interested in facing dos Anjos again although he says he proved his point the last time they fought, then the conversation turns to Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz…
The rollercoaster ride that has been Khabib Nurmagomedov’s scheduled Octagon return at the UFC On FOX 19 event appears to have made its’ final stop, as “The Eagle” now officially has a new opponent for his highly-anticipated Octagon return.
Nurmagom…
The rollercoaster ride that has been Khabib Nurmagomedov’s scheduled Octagon return at the UFC On FOX 19 event appears to have made its’ final stop, as “The Eagle” now officially has a new opponent for his highly-anticipated Octagon return.
Nurmagomedov will return at the event next weekend but it won’t be against Tony Ferguson as originally planned, or even Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, as was rumored at one point.
When “The Eagle” makes his UFC return, he will be fighting Octagon newcomer Darrell Horcher in a 160-pound catch weight bout.
UFC On FOX 19 takes place on Saturday, April 16, 2016 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Make sure to join us here at MMANews.com on for the best live results coverage of the event!
No one who has followed MMA for any significant amount of time was surprised to hear last night that Donald Cerrone offered to step up on short notice and replace Tony Ferguson versus Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC on FOX 19 from Florida. With the April 19 card rapidly approaching, the fight
With the April 19 card rapidly approaching, the fight between the two top-ranked lightweights who had previously scheduled bouts at UFC 178 and 187, was apparently signed, but a subsequent rib injury forced him to pull out:
Wow. I just signed contract to fight Cowboy at 170 3 hours later he hurt his ribs and pulled out. Any other opponent for April 16 #UFCTampa
Interesting. With UFC on FOX 19 only 10 days away, it looks like the lightweight main event may or may not still be on. We’ll let you know what goes down soon.
A photo posted by @TonyFergusonxt (@tonyfergusonxt) on
Tony Ferguson believes he will be ready to resume training in a few weeks and wants his cancelled scrap with Khabib Nurmagomedov rescheduled.
Ferguson, who was set to meet Nurmagomedov next weekend in the main event of UFC on FOX 19, posted a message recently on social media indicating his desire to fight on May 29.
UFC officials have yet to decide if they will seek a replacement for Ferguson to keep the unbeaten Nurmagomedov on the upcoming card.
Unfortunately, Tony Ferguson (20-3 MMA, 10-1 UFC) is out of his UFC on FOX 19 fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov (22-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) due to injury. The UFC is looking for someone to fight Nurmagomedov at the event. Ferguson recently commented on his decision to pull out of the fight, and it’s scary. According to
Unfortunately, Tony Ferguson (20-3 MMA, 10-1 UFC) is out of his UFC on FOX 19 fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov (22-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) due to injury. The UFC is looking for someone to fight Nurmagomedov at the event.
Ferguson recently commented on his decision to pull out of the fight, and it’s scary. According to Ferguson, his doctor told him that he had “fluid” and “blood” in his lungs and that “any more trauma could be terminal,” which is not good news at all.
Fortunately, Ferguson is looking to return to action in a few weeks. He posted this on Instagram:
“I am out of my Fight Due to Blood/Fluid in my Lung. Usually I can Power Through These things. Doc said it wasn’t wise to Fight due to any more trauma could be terminal. There are more Important things to me Like Making sure I am there for my Little Man Armand Anthony & @xtfergie@darceandknucklez Family First. I will be Back, I will be Better. You haven’t seen anything yet.#TeamFerguson #TeamElCucuy #TonyFergusonMMA #SnapDownCity #OGElCucuy Give me a couple weeks. Khabib pulled out Three Times. I have pulled out Once in my Whole Career… I will be Back. It’s Shitty these things happen… Staying Positive for my Family. TF.”
(Wait, it was the *other* guy who got injured for once? You’re kidding…)
For close to a week now, we’ve been hinting that a great rash of injuries was set to befall the UFC. Chalk it up to our well-documentedknack forpredicting the future, chalk it up to the series of Rube Goldbergian traps we placed in the homes of several prominent MMA fighters, but we haven’t help but shake the feeling that 2016 will bring with it an injury curse that makes the injury curse of 2012 look like a series of bumps and bruises.
The Great Injury Curse of 2016 — henceforth to be known and referred to as the #PotatoCurse by *all* MMA media entities — got off to a promising start last week, claiming Daniel Cormier just weeks out from his highly-anticipated title fight rematch with uber rival Jon Jones. Last night, the #PotatoCurse claimed its second victim in the form of lightweight Tony Ferguson, forcing him out of his #1 contender bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov and destroying the second straight UFC main event in as many weeks.
(Wait, it was the *other* guy who got injured for once? You’re kidding…)
For close to a week now, we’ve been hinting that a great rash of injuries was set to befall the UFC. Chalk it up to our well-documentedknack forpredicting the future, chalk it up to the series of Rube Goldbergian traps we placed in the homes of several prominent MMA fighters, but we haven’t help but shake the feeling that 2016 will bring with it an injury curse that makes the injury curse of 2012 look like a series of bumps and bruises.
The Great Injury Curse of 2016 — henceforth to be known and referred to as the #PotatoCurse by *all* MMA media entities — got off to a promising start last week, claiming Daniel Cormier just weeks out from his highly-anticipated title fight rematch with uber rival Jon Jones. Last night, the #PotatoCurse claimed its second victim in the form of lightweight Tony Ferguson, forcing him out of his #1 contender bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov and destroying the second straight UFC main event in as many weeks.
Details after the jump.
Yes, just two weeks out from his UFC on FOX 19 main event, “El Cucuy” took to Instagram to relay the news of an injury that you don’t hear a lot of in *any* professional sport.
“I am out of my Fight Due to Blood/Fluid in my Lung,” wrote Ferguson. “Usually I can Power Through These things. Doc said it wasn’t wise to Fight due to any more trauma could be terminal.”
Ferguson later wrote that he should be cleared to fight again in a few weeks, but in his absence, the UFC went ahead and bumped the evening’s scheduled co-main event between Rashad Evans and Glover Teixeirainto the main event slot. This now makes for the second time in a row that this Nurmy vs. Cucuy has been cancelled due to injury.
But there may be hope, in that no less than 5 fighters from two different weight classes have offered to step in against Nurmagomedov on extremely short notice. As you might expect, one of these people is Donald Cerrone, but perhaps the most intriguing name in the mix is current lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos. In a message posted to his Twitter, Dos Anjos called out the Dagestani grappler (and the last man to beat him) for a fight this summer.
“Sorry to hear Ferguson is out. @TeamKhabib We have some unfinished business, I’ll be ready in July.”
Honestly, we’re still trying to wrap our heads around the idea that Khabib Nurmagomedov has made it through an entire training camp intact. We’ll let you know who the UFC decides on as an opponent for him when/if it happens.
