UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0) is fresh out of his 12th UFC victory and there’s a new serious problem for the Russian.
Tony Ferguson (25-3) is probably the next challenger for Khabib’s title and according to “El Cucuy”, Khabib better be ready. The pair were scheduled to meet in the past 4 times, but injuries and late pull outs postponed the fight.
The American said he’s hoping to fight “The Eagle” before the end of 2019, but the timing of the bout really depends on Khabib. The 35-year-old Ferguson revealed how he plans to beat the champ and why Khabib’s actions outside the Octagon might come back and bite him.
“Well, he pissed me off a couple of times,” he said in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani.
“So when he and his team circle my family over at the hotel. I owe him one for that. Then Javier Mendez at the elevator. The elevator doors open. It was Javi, man, f*cking looking at me. I didn’t know who he was, I just remembered he was a coach. And he looked at me and he kind of went [makes sound] ‘that’s him?’ And I walked by and was like who’s that? Then I figured it out and was like what the f*ck? So that was two.
“Like seriously man, I can keep counting them. I owe this dude a couple of shots to the stomach. I’m going to slam him from his feet to his back. And in sambo, that’s like a big diss. …I’m going to show him exactly what grappling is about. The dude doesn’t like to get hit. There’s no secret to this sh*t. It’s who’s going to want it more, a battle of will. UFC. December. Vegas. No bullsh*t. Defend or vacate.”
When asked to expand on the first incident in the hotel, Ferguson explained how Nurmagomedov and his team circled him and his wife:
“Yeah, we were checking in the hotel,” he added.
“Him and his f*cking team, they’re like a bunch of f*cking goons or whatever. Me and my wife, we’re checking in and I looked and there were like three or four of his teammates, they were looking at us, circling us, like dude, what the f*ck? Then, later on, my team and I, we had another run-in with them.
“These dudes are just a bunch of f*cking bullies. I’m standing up, I stood up. Ali Abdelaziz and I exchanged some words at the fight not too long ago and he f*cking knows exactly what he’s dealing with. I don’t play around. When I do, it’s cool, it’s fun and games. When it comes to this fighting game, it’s more ruthless than Robbie Lawler.”
