
There’s plenty of buzz these days regarding a potential fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. But, Tony Ferguson’s doing his best to keep his name in the title fight conversation.
Ferguson was scheduled to fight Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 in April, in a bout that would determine who is the promotion’s undisputed, lightweight champ. As you surely know, Ferguson went down with a freak knee injury not far out from the card. It marked the fourth time a bout with Khabib has fallen through.
Well, Nurmagomedov ended up facing Al Iaquinta at the event, and he proceeded to win the 155 title via decision. Since McGregor was the lightweight champ, and due to what transpired at the media day for UFC 223, there’s considerable hype about the Irish star fighting Nurmagomedov.
Ferguson recently spoke with Helen Yee, and while discussing his recovery and the possibility of fighting Khabib, “El Cucuy” said this (quote via MMA Fighting):
“Don’t know, haven’t heard s**t,” Ferguson said. “What I know is I’ve been keeping my nose clean, making sure that my leg is healing right. As far as how the fights are gonna go, the fans want to see myself and Khabib. That’s what they really want to see. Conor’s got his s**t going on – slap on the wrist, whatever, that’s not my business – so if the s**t happens and they want to go with Khabib, let’s do this. Let’s have some fun with it.”
“I’m about 90 percent right now,” Ferguson added, while discussing a timeline for his return. “Obviously, I want to get back in there. September looks good for me.”
Of course, there’s no doubt that a ton of folks want to see Ferguson and Nurmagomedov finally fight. But, it’s hard to imagine the UFC going this route, if the company comes to terms with McGregor for a bout with Khabib, and provided legal issues don’t prevent the former champ from competing this year.
If McGregor isn’t in the short term picture, however, you never know. Perhaps Nurmagomedov – Ferguson will get booked for a fifth time.
The 34 year-old Ferguson is riding a ten fight, winning streak.