Khabib Challenges Tony Ferguson To March Title Fight
The UFC lightweight division had a new champion crowned in New York City, and it’s caused quite a fuss. As is usual with anything Conor McGregor does, his victory over Eddie Alvarez altered a wide landscape. First off, the future was very unclear at 155 and 145 pounds. Although the Irish star had committed to six months of leave, he also stated he’d be defending both belts in good time. Those plans got stripped away, as did his featherweight title, as the UFC made plans to save UFC 206 and also promote Jose Aldo.
Anthony Pettis and Max Holloway do battle for the junior belt, and so the focus is now on the lightweight division on McGregor’s return. For one top contender in Khabib Nurmagomedov, that day could not come soon enough, or at least it seemed that way for a while. The 24-0 animal from American Kickboxing Academy vowed to ‘torture’ McGregor for five rounds recently. ‘The Eagle’ and ‘The Notorious’ shared a heated backstage confrontation before UFC 205, and after both were victorious it looked like a fight was dead certain.
Not So Fast
Now that the trash talking Irishman is out of play for the moment, Khabib is setting his sights elsewhere. In an interview with RT, as quoted by MMAFighting.com, Nurmagomedov says he now wants to fight Tony Ferguson next:
“I feel very bad about this (McGregor taking a break) because before this year I have two years rest because I have injured all the time. Now I don’t want [to be] waiting for this guy. If Conor don’t want fight before May/June, I want to take other fight. I want to fight for the interim belt with Tony Ferguson.
“Last time he was injured. He pulled out, not me. He’s not coming to April 16 to the fight. Before I have been injured and now it’s, why not? Now, I think the UFC wants to make this fight. I feel this and for me its perfect date is March. Not early, only March.”
“Tony Ferguson is tough guy, tough opponent. Nine-win streak. Why not? I think this is real high level lightweight fight. Not Conor versus me I think this is real high level fight.”
History
Nurmagomedov and Ferguson have twice been due to dance, but injuries on both sides have hindered that match up. Now that both men are healthy, as are their impressive streaks, is a March interim title clash a no-brainer?
