Khabib Nurmagomedov is not at all interested in what Tony Ferguson is doing these days, even two days out from Ferguson’s bout against Charles Oliveira at UFC 256.
It is very difficult to be considered rivals when there has never been any direct competition between the opposing forces, and yet the word “rivalry” just seems to fit with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. When Khabib became champion, it seemed inevitable that we would finally get to see him face Tony Ferguson after four prior bout cancellations, but when Khabib could not defend the lightweight championship against Ferguson at UFC 249, Ferguson accepted a short-notice fight against Justin Gaethje instead.
Ferguson would get TKO’d in the fourth round, and Khabib came away from that viewing with the belief that Tony Ferguson’s best days are behind him. But what if he bounces back with a win at UFC 256 against Charles Oliveira?
“If he wins…there’s a lot of ifs,” Khabib said dismissively at a Moscow Press conference when asked about Tony Ferguson returning to contender status (translated by RT Sport). “Let him win first. It’s been a while since he was victorious in the Octagon.
“The last time he fought, he was destroyed by Justin Gaethje,” Khabib continued. “I think many people lost faith in him because of his age. But that’s his problem, not mine. Let him pick up the pieces, and we’ll see if he can. Why should I even care? Will he recover or not, there are too many questions. After seeing his last performance against Gaethje, I completely lost any interest in him as a competitive opponent.”
In two days, the “ifs” will shrink drastically. Khabib has said in the past that he believes Tony Ferguson is done and would lose his next fight. At UFC 256, Tony Ferguson will have an opportunity to prove Khabib wrong with a victory over Charles Oliveira and, who knows, maybe even be considered a worthy competitive opponent again by Nurmagomedov.
Do you think Tony Ferguson will prove Khabib wrong and show that he is still an elite fighter at UFC 256?
