Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson are two of the most dominant fighters in UFC at the moment with an impressive winning streak. Nurmagomedov is yet to taste defeat in his MMA career. While Ferguson has been destroying his opponents since his last loss to Michael Johnson back in 2012. Hence it is safe to expect fireworks when these two lightweight elites step into the UFC octagon on April 18th.
Khabib Nurmagomedov was scheduled to fight the former interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson for the undisputed title in the past. However, he ended up facing Al Iaquinta since Ferguson suffered an injury. After becoming the lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov has defended his title against Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. However, it seems no other opponents have been able to present the challenge to the champion that Ferguson is likely to present on April 18th.
Recently Khabib Nurmagomedov admitted that he did not have the fire inside him while preparing for his past few opponents. However, the fight with Tony Ferguson has motivated the Russian champion to train even harder.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
“I will train hard. With every fight, I gain more and more experience. I’m getting older, I am 31. I think it’s the peak age of the fighter’s career. Of course, I will train more for this fight because I got worthy opponent. He is a very good and very dangerous opponent. And to be honest, I lacked this motivation for my last fights. Iaquinta, Conor, Barboza, Poirier. They’re not the same as Tony Ferguson. That’s why I feel that fire burning inside me again.” said Nurmagomedov in a recent interview in Dagestan.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Khabib Nurmagomedov has been dominating his opponents ever since he came into UFC. He defeated a former two-division champion, Conor McGregor spectacularly, and overcame a highly-skilled lightweight, Dustin Poirier with ease. Hence Khabib Nurmagomedov claiming that he would be even more motivated for his next fight with Ferguson will make the fans wonder what else the Russian wrecking machine can showcase inside the octagon.
On the other hand, Tony Ferguson has finally got the title shot that he deserves more than anyone else in the lightweight division and he has made it clear in his last interview on ESPN that he is coming to claim the lightweight title. It would be intriguing to see whether Khabib Nurmagomedov can overcome Ferguson, who is believed to be the toughest challenge for the lightweight champion.