Khabib Nurmagomedov wants to defend his UFC lightweight title in Russia and he believes Tony Ferguson is most deserving of the next championship opportunity.
Nurmagomedov recently touched on a number of topics inside the Synergy Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia. One of those topics was on a potential lightweight title defense in Russia. Nurmagomedov hopes he can make it happen in spring 2020 (via RT Sport).
“It will be in March or April,” he explained. “I said it clearly – I want to fight in a large arena and the only large indoor arena in Russia is Gazprom Arena (in St. Petersburg), so I want to fight there.”
Nurmagomedov went on to make it clear that he feels Conor McGregor should work his way back up to another 155-pound title opportunity. This after Nurmagomedov’s father said he’d welcome a rematch between his son and McGregor in Moscow.
“From a fighter’s point of view, [the McGregor rivalry] is a thing of the past,” he said. “I have nothing to prove. But he has something to prove. We know he does. There’s a lot of businessmen here and I think most of them will tell me to fight him because it’ll bring money. I’d fight all the main contenders first, and I could fight him to benefit my agricultural projects.”
For Nurmagomedov, Ferguson is the one who deserves the next shot at his lightweight gold.
“I have to say that Tony Ferguson deserves it more. You have to give him credit. He is on a 12-fight win streak and he deserves it more than Conor. Conor has to come back (and) stop hitting old people. He is a professional fighter. He should come back, win, earn his place and get in line.”
