Tag: UFC 223

Khabib Says Tony Ferguson Has Never Fought Anyone Like Him

On April 7, 2018, UFC 223 will go down live on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and the event is set to be headlined by a long awaited lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Although undisputed 155-pound champion Conor McGregor is still sidelined and the division’s title […]

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On April 7, 2018, UFC 223 will go down live on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and the event is set to be headlined by a long awaited lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Although undisputed 155-pound champion Conor McGregor is still sidelined and the division’s title picture is still a bit unclear, Ferguson and Nurmagomedov are considered by most to be two of the best lightweights in the world if not the two very best.

And those that feel that way certainly have good reason to, as Ferguson has won an incredible 10-straight, while “The Eagle” possesses a perfect 25-0 professional record.

As far as the fight itself goes, Nurmagomedov is without question one of the best wrestlers the UFC has ever seen, but Ferguson’s jiu-jitsu coach, Eddie Bravo, recently said that “El Cucuy” will ‘thank’ Nurmagomedov for taking him down and attack from the bottom:

“We’re going to turn around and attack him (on the ground),” Bravo said on an edition of WFAN’s Outside the Cage podcast. “We’re going to thank him for taking Tony down, and we’re going to throw some fire at him. It’s going to be different. No one has done that.

“I’m sure his defense is going to be tight. I’m sure he’s going to be studying rubber guard and all that, but we’re going to come there with fire. We’re going to come right at him.”

Bravo appears quite confident in his fighter, as he should be given Ferguson’s world class submission game and unorthodox style.

“The Eagle”, however, isn’t as worried, recently saying that “El Cucuy” has never fought a fighter like him before:

“I don’t think he has better jiu-jitsu than me, better grappling,” Nurmagomedov told RT Sport. “I think he’s unpredictable a little bit. He has very good knee, very good elbow. But I don’t think he ever fight with somebody like me, who have like pressure, top control, good everywhere. Strong.”

“When we go to the cage, when cage close, we’re gonna show this. Me and Tony Ferguson is different level.”

Who do you expect to come out on top on April 7?

The post Khabib Says Tony Ferguson Has Never Fought Anyone Like Him appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Al Iaquinta Fighting Paul Felder on ‘One-Fight Deal’

Al Iaquinta was given a new contract when he first agreed to meet Paul Felder at UFC 218. But after that bout fell through due to an injury to the former Ultimate Fighter runner-up, he remained on the sidelines awaiting the right kind of deal from the …

Al Iaquinta was given a new contract when he first agreed to meet Paul Felder at UFC 218. But after that bout fell through due to an injury to the former Ultimate Fighter runner-up, he remained on the sidelines awaiting the right kind of deal from the UFC. Iaquinta told The MMA Hour Monday that […]

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 […]

The post Manager Hints Khabib May Say ‘Bye Bye’ After Beating Ferguson & McGregor appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

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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UFC 223: Joe Lauzon Battles Chris Gruetzemacher in Brooklyn

Former Ultimate Fighter competitors Joe Lauzon and Chris Gruetzemacher will square off at UFC 223 this April, according to a report by Newsday. Lauzon (27-14) is just 3-5 over his last eight, including back-to-back defeats at the hands of Stevie Ray an…

Former Ultimate Fighter competitors Joe Lauzon and Chris Gruetzemacher will square off at UFC 223 this April, according to a report by Newsday. Lauzon (27-14) is just 3-5 over his last eight, including back-to-back defeats at the hands of Stevie Ray and Clay Guida. The Massachussetts native will be trying to avoid the first three-fight […]

UFC 223: Al Iaquinta-Paul Felder Official For Brooklyn

Lightweights Al Iaquinta and Paul Felder will finally settle the score this April at UFC 223. Officials confirmed the bout as part of the April 7 event from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The card features Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov for the li…

Lightweights Al Iaquinta and Paul Felder will finally settle the score this April at UFC 223. Officials confirmed the bout as part of the April 7 event from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The card features Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title, along with Rose Namajunas defending her strawweight belt vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk. […]

Rose Namajunas on Joanna Jedrzejczyk Rematch: ‘Can’t Paint Mona Lisa Twice’

Rose Namajunas has no issues with giving Joanna Jedrzejczyk a rematch. The two will meet for the strawweight title at UFC 223 on April 7 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. For Namajunas (7-3), the hard part is figuring out a way to improve upon her …

Rose Namajunas has no issues with giving Joanna Jedrzejczyk a rematch. The two will meet for the strawweight title at UFC 223 on April 7 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. For Namajunas (7-3), the hard part is figuring out a way to improve upon her dominating performance from last November vs. Jedrzejczyk (14-1). “That’s […]