Khabib Nurmagomedov is inarguably one of the most prominent names in combat sports. He is undefeated in his professional MMA career and has a record of 29-0. Many fighters and UFC pundits consider ‘The Eagle’ to be one of the greatest fighters in MMA history.
However, the former interim champion Tony Ferguson walks a different path. ‘El Cucuy’ believes the Dagestan native is yet to earn the status of the greatest UFC lightweight as he hasn’t defeated him.
Recently, a Twitter user posted a video of ‘The Eagle’ saying, “If I want to become the greatest lightweight ever. I have to beat this guy. That’s why I am here.” Nurmagomedov had said this at a press conference of their scheduled bout that never came to fruition.
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The video was posted with a caption that said, “In Khabib’s own words, if he wanted to become the greatest lightweight of all time, he had to beat Tony Ferguson. He never did. So @TonyFergusonXT is the Lightweight GOAT “WellThen, That Explains Everything” 29 – 1 -CSO- # WhatAPuts # Time4Work.”
See Fathead Run 🍮 🏃♂️💨🍃 Run Fathead Run -CSO- 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 https://t.co/B4JVF2UFNF
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) November 20, 2021
The former lightweight title challenger acknowledged the video and was quick to react. He took a dig at Nurmagomedov. ‘El Cucuy’ wrote in the caption, “See Fathead Run. Run Fathead Run -CSO-“
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The rivalry between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson is one of the most heated rivalries in the UFC. Both fighters have taken various shots at each other. Unfortunately, though, they never had a chance to settle the beef inside the UFC cage.
Why did Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson Never Happen?
Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov were scheduled to face each other five times. However, the fight never came to fruition. The promotion booked a fight between them for the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 22 in December 2015. However, ‘The Eagle’ pulled off from the fight due to a knee injury.
The UFC rescheduled the bout. Unfortunately, a second cancellation came after Ferguson pulled off from the bout because of a lung issue. While Conor McGregor was at the pinnacle of the lightweight division, ‘El Cucuy’ and ‘The Eagle’ would have clashed for the interim title at UFC 209 in March 2017.
However, this time around the Nurmagomedov faced health issues due to the weight cut. Furthermore, in the fourth booking, ‘El Cucuy’ pulled out because of a knee injury, when both the men were set to clash at UFC 223 in April 2018.
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During that time, Nurmagomedov ranked up in the division and became the UFC lightweight champion at UFC 223. Unfortunately, during the fifth booking of the fight, ‘The Eagle’ couldn’t travel due to Covid-19 restrictions. Hence, Ferguson ended up competing against Justin Gaethje for the interim belt. However, he lost the bout.
Now ‘The Eagle’ has retired from professional fighting with an undefeated record of 29-0 under his name. Meanwhile, ‘El Cucuy’ is on a three-fight losing streak and is awaiting his return to the octagon.
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What are your thoughts on Ferguson not considering ‘The Eagle’ as the greatest 150lbs fighter? Let us know in the comments below.