Khabib Nurmagomedov hits out at “stupid” Tony Ferguson as rivalry reignites

Nurmagomedov and Ferguson were due to fight five times in the UFC but the bouts were cancelled on each occasion before the Russian eventually retired

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Usman Nurmagomedov: Khabib could be a better coach than fighter

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson reunited their row this week as the latter attempts to avoid a fourth successive defeat in the cage.

The lightweight rivals were due to clash five times during their UFC careers but on each occasion the bouts were cancelled. Nurmagomedov went on to become the 155lb champion before retiring undefeated after his win over Justin Gaethje in 2020.

Ferguson, meanwhile, has lost his las three fights and will attempt to stop his slide against Michael Chandler at UFC 274 this weekend. And he has claimed he didn’t prepare for those last three outings as best he could.

“I’m going to be real, the last couple of fights I didn’t prepare like I should have,” he told Daniel Cormier. “I didn’t take the opportunities I wanted to. I’m not going to say on purpose, but I want to be real. There was enough film out there for Khabib to take a fight and the p***y’s still running.”

Nurmagomedov wasted no time in hitting back via a post on social media, saying: “Last three years, Tony has not won a single round in the UFC. leave me alone and focus on yourself stupid guy.” The Russian hung up his gloves following the death of his father and has refused to be tempted into a comeback.

And Ferguson added: “I have nothing against him, I have respect for everybody. I’m focused on Michael Chandler so come Saturday night I’m not worried about anything else other than going in there and getting my hand raised in victory.

Who would have won had Tony and Khabib fought? Let us know in the comments section below

“I tried to be a people pleaser and I tried to do too much of that. It was fun for a while, we needed that during the pandemic but I took a lot of damage. And when I realised where everyone was at, people weren’t there. We’re going to go out and entertain but I’m not going to get hurt anymore.”

Nurmagomedov pulled out of his first fight with Ferguson with a rib injury before Ferguson was ruled out a year later with fluid on his lungs. Nurmagomedov was then hospitalised following a bad weight cut before Ferguson tripped over a TV cable and suffered a knee injury days before their fourth scheduled meeting.

Their fifth and final meeting was cancelled in 2020 when Covid-19 travel restrictions prevented Nurmagomedov from travelling to America.