See who could be fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov on April 16… News broke late last night that once again Khabib Nurmagomedov’s return had been hindered by injury, but this time it was not his own. Tony Ferguson, originally scheduled to face ‘The Eagle’ on April 16’s UFC on FOX 19 card, withdrew from the bout with
See who could be fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov on April 16…
News broke late last night that once again Khabib Nurmagomedov’s return had been hindered by injury, but this time it was not his own. Tony Ferguson, originally scheduled to face ‘The Eagle’ on April 16’s UFC on FOX 19 card, withdrew from the bout with just 11 days notice. Nurmagomedov has been out of action for two years now, his last performance a dominant win over current lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos, and now the 22-0 Sambo master is looking for a replacement for ‘El Cucuy.’
We saw that Donald Cerrone threw his name in the mix, but with his own fight against Patrick Cote also at risk, it’s possible the UFC might look elsewhere. Luckily for the matchmakers, there’s been a number of fighters making themselves available for Nurmagomedov, but not all of them for April 16.
UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos claims he has unfinished business with ‘The Eagle,’ but his old foe wasn’t too co-operative when the Brazilian came knocking:
Khabib Nurmagomedov knows exactly how Tony Ferguson is feeling right now.
Less than two weeks out from a planned UFC on FOX 19 title-eliminator, Ferguson was forced to pull out with an injury.
Nurmagomedov, who has battled injuries for almost two years, expressed his sympathy for the former Ultimate Fighter winner on social media.
While nothing has been made official, Donald Cerrone has offered his services as a late-notice replacement for Ferguson to keep “The Eagle” on the card.
With the MMA world still reeling from the unfortunate news that Tony Ferguson had been forced out of his lightweight bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov in the feature spot of April 16’s UFC on FOX 19, the division’s card saver has already spoken up. Top-ranked stalwart Donald Cerrone, who’s currently scheduled to take on Patrick Cote
Top-ranked stalwart Donald Cerrone, who’s currently scheduled to take on Patrick Cote at welterweight on June 18’s UFC Fight Night debut from Ottawa, Canada, offered his services with his classic “I know a guy” line on Twitter:
Finally, Cerrone reiterated that he “knows a guy” in response to Ariel Helwani’s tweet about the set of circumstances where Nurmagomedov was looking to return after nearly two years on the sidelines dealing with injuries:
The bout makes a ton of sense, as Nurmagomedov and Cerrone were originally supposed to fight at UFC 178 in 2014 and then again at UFC 187 in May of last year before the undefeated grappler withdrew with knee injuries both times. It is still thought that Nurmagomedov will remain off the card, but with his last fight a decision win over current champion Rafael dos Anjos in 2014, “The Eagle” needs cage time arguably more than any other fighter in the UFC.
Will Cerrone step up to save another event on short notice?
Former Ultimate Fighter winner Tony Ferguson was looking to move one step closer to challenging for the lightweight title.
Instead, he’ll spend time on the sidelines after doctors found fluid and blood in his lung.
Ferguson was removed Tuesday f…
Former Ultimate Fighter winner Tony Ferguson was looking to move one step closer to challenging for the lightweight title.
Instead, he’ll spend time on the sidelines after doctors found fluid and blood in his lung.
Ferguson was removed Tuesday from a planned main event fight vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov next weekend at UFC on FOX 19. The card will now feature Rashad Evans vs. Glover Teixeira in the headline act.
For the 32-year-old Ferguson (20-3), a win would have been his eighth-straight and add Nurmagomedov to a resume that includes Edson Barboza, Josh Thomson and Abel Trujillo.
Usually I can Power thru small Bumps & Bruises. Doc Said I have Fluid/Blood in my Lung #UFCTampa I Will Heal Up. I Will be Back.#TeamElCucuy
An injury to Tony Ferguson has scratched the planned UFC on FOX 19 main event. The card will now be headlined by Rashad Evans vs. Glover Teixeira, according to a report by FOXSports.com.
Ferguson was set to meet Khabib Nurmagomedov in a title-elimin…
An injury to Tony Ferguson has scratched the planned UFC on FOX 19 main event. The card will now be headlined by Rashad Evans vs. Glover Teixeira, according to a report by FOXSports.com.
Ferguson was set to meet Khabib Nurmagomedov in a title-eliminator in the lightweight division. Evans-Teixeira will be five rounds in the light heavyweight division.
Evans (19-4-1) is a former UFC light heavyweight champion, but is just 2-3 over his last five. He was bested last October by Ryan Bader, snapping his two-fight win streak that included victories over Chael Sonnen and Dan Henderson.
Teixeira (24-4) was a replacement for Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in this bout, as the ex-UFC champion suffered an injury of his own. The former title contender is on a two-fight win streak, having bested Patrick Cummins and upcoming interim title fighter Ovince Saint Preux after back-to-back decision defeats at the hands of Phil Davis and Jon Jones.
It remains to be seen if officials will find a replacement for Ferguson or keep Nurmagomedov – who has battled injuries of his own over the past couple of years – off the card completely.
One possible replacement would be Donald Cerrone, as “Cowboy” does have a fight lined up, but is always willing to step in on short notice.
Wow, they say Conor McGregor is the king of trash talk, wait until you get a load of this guy. We know ‘The Notorious’ can get under people’s skin, but damn… UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor will no longer be facing the lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 196, after the Brazilian broke his
Wow, they say Conor McGregor is the king of trash talk, wait until you get a load of this guy. We know ‘The Notorious’ can get under people’s skin, but damn…
UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor will no longer be facing the lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 196, after the Brazilian broke his foot in training. This opened the door to a day of speculation about McGregor’s replacement opponent, before Nate Diaz was finally booked in at welterweight, but it’s once again opened the door to even more discussions about the Irish star.
Mixed martial arts promotion has taken a very different form in the UFC lately thanks to McGregor, but he still uses the same old formula as guys like Tito Ortiz utilized to help promote fights. The difference now is that a lot of money can be put behind the selling of big names, but this in turn mounts the pressure on the athlete to perform. You only need to reference Ronda Rousey’s fall from grace to verify that statement.
One fighter that is seriously unimpressed by McGregor is lightweight contender Tony Ferguson. As much as ‘The Notorious’ likes to run his mouth to help promote fights, he also uses it as a great tool to frustrate opponents. For ‘El Cucuy’ though, this is a scumbag move.
Check out what the streaking Ferguson told our good friends over at Submission Radiothis week:
Tony Ferguson on ‘Little B*tch’ McGregor: “I’ll give him his Red Panty night if he really f**king wants it”
“This dude claims to be a master of movement but he’s a turtle on his back. Chad Mendes, if he had any kind of conditioning or patience, he would have passed the guard and pulled it off. I see McGregor, he can’t learn wrestling overnight. I see his movement, he looks predictable. But that’s not the fight I have. Khabib Nurmagomedov, this 22-0 guy is gonna go down. 22-1 is what his record is going to be after this, and then every single fighter after this when I put that picture up with his face all cut up from my elbows, nobody’s gonna want to sign on the dotted line. I’ll probably have a nice little vacation.”
Although he’s booked in to face Khabib Nurmagomedov in the undefeated wrestler’s return to the octagon, Tony Ferguson clearly has a bee in his bonnet about Conor McGregor. He was then asked if McGregor’s win over Aldo was impressive. Here’s how he answered….
