Khabib Nurmagomedov was supposed to fight Tony Ferguson at UFC 249. Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the best fighters in the UFC right now and everyone wants a shot at him. His latest challenger for. Khabib was scheduled to face Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight title at UFC 209, but the fight fell through after ‘The Eagle’ had to be hospitalized because of issues with his weight cut.
UFC fighter Tony FergusonSource:Getty Images
MMA fighter Tony Ferguson has responded with fury to the news Khabib Nurmagomedov called off their UFC 249 fight, claiming the Russian is “scared” of their highly-anticipated encounter.
Stuck in his home nation, Nurmagomedov is unable to leave Russia due to the coronavirus travel restrictions. The pair were due to meet on April 18th in New York but lightweight champ Nurmagomedov pulled the plug on Instagram and took a swipe at those expecting him to break quarantine rules.
The 31-year-old posted a picture of himself alongside a caption that read: “Staying home in quarantine and reading the reaction of people to the situation around my fight, it turns out that the whole world should be in quarantine.
“Governments of all countries, famous people around the world urge people to follow all safety requirements in order to limit the spread of the disease, to save people.
“And Khabib is the only one relieved of all obligations and must demonstrate free will and train flying around the world, for the sake of fight?
“But Khabib still has to fight, is that what you saying?
“Take care of yourself and put yourself in my shoes.”
Speaking on SportsCentre, Ferguson fired back at Nurmagomedov, claiming his rival “bailed out” on the fight. This is the fifth occurrence where the duo were scheduled to face off, only for the bout to be cancelled or postponed.
“Obviously, I was very upset. I actually feel sad for everybody else who’s actually going through some hard time,” Ferguson said on Thursday.
“The guy does not want to fight. He’s scared, he’s running, he should be stripped of his title.
“I’m down to fight … the fight’s against Khabib man, this is the guy that everybody wants to fight.
“He did the same thing at UFC 209.
“He’s running away. He obviously knew what he could do to save his card and he didn’t want to take any of those chances.
“He bailed out, man.”
“The guy does not want to fight. He’s scared, he’s running, he should be stripped of his title.”
Portion of my conversation with @TonyFergusonXT. Full chat will be up soon. pic.twitter.com/n7wqsvqLcB
It now leaves UFC fans wondering who will take on Tony Ferguson as Khabib’s replacement, with boss Dana White assuring previously the fight will go ahead. Legendary boxing promoter Bob Arum savaged White for his determination to force the event to take place amid a global health crisis.
“He ought to be ashamed of himself,” Arum said on CBS Sports’ State of Combat podcast.
Ufc 209 Khabib Replacement Parts
“What’s going on in this country and the world with this virus, the last thing we need is for an event to take place with no spectators just to get the event to take place. But the truth is Dana White is somebody with a flawed intelligence.
Ufc 209 Khabib
“He’s not going to move forward with the card, and if the card happens with people dying in hospitals all over the United States, he ought to be ashamed of himself.”
Ufc Khabib Nurmagomedov
Conor McGregor’s trainer John Kavanagh has teased fans on Tuesday, hinting the Notorious could face Ferguson at UFC 249 instead of Nurmagomedov.