“I Call It Moar Hype”- Tony Ferguson Ahead of His Fight Against Khabib Nurmagomedov

Tony Ferguson believes that people are needlessly hyping up his match against Khabib Nurmagomedov, as it is just another fight. However, The Dagestani’s fight with the Boogeyman is something that every UFC fan has been waiting for years.

Ahead of the UFC 249, Tony Ferguson told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto: “Nah man, ain’t no hype. Everybody else wants to hype it up. I call it moar hype right? with the MOAR.”

Regardless of how much Ferguson downplays the fight, he cannot discount its importance for every fan of the sport, who have been looking forward to the fight for a long time. The match is finally here, and fans speculate that it will be nothing short of being the greatest fight in Lightweight history, if not the entire UFC.

The hype kicked into gear right at the press conference, which was full of drama. After a verbal battle ensued between the two fighters, they squared off. The conference ended with Khabib booting Ferguson’s belt off the stage. Throughout the event, UFC President Dana White wass visibly distressed worried about what may transpire if someone were to lose their cool.

Both fighters agree that this match is their toughest to date. Khabib feels he need to fight Ferguson if he is to cement his legacy. The winner of this fight will undoubtedly be crowned as the GOAT.

History of Tony Ferguson v Khabib Nurmagomedov

Dana White and the UFC have been trying to book this fight for ages. It always seemed to evade organizers and fans alike. Further, issues like injuries and withdrawals have plagued this matchup for quite some time now.

Khabib and Ferguson were first supposed to face off against each other at the Ultimate Fighter Finale in December 2015. However, Khabib was forced to pull out of the fight due to an injury and was replaced by Edson Barboza.

The two were set to face each other the following year at UFC Fight Night: Teixeira v Evans, but the match had was cancelled as Ferguson had to pull out of the bout due to an issue in his lung. Khabib went on to face Darell Horcher and took the win by a relatively easy knockout.

Similar attempts at setting up two fighters to fight each other came in 2017 and 2018 at UFC 209 and UFC 223 respectively. Khabib pulled out of the former bout as he fell ill before the event and had to be rushed to the hospital. And as for the latter event, Ferguson was injured in a freak accident at a media obligation and had to withdraw from the fight just 6 days prior.