Tony Ferguson Issues Statement On Devastating UFC 223 Knee Injury

As the MMA universe attempts to collect itself following the extremely disappointing news that Tony Ferguson had been forced out of his UFC 223 main event against Khabib Nurmagomedov due to a knee injury and replaced by featherweight champion Max Holloway, all of the involved parties have begun to weigh in.

“The Eagle” wished his oft-scheduled opponent well but issued him a warning not to talk so much, while Holloway posted his own wildlife-focused prediction for the short-notice fight.

Finally, Ferguson himself weighed in with his own statement on Twitter that focused on how devastated he was to be forced out of the previously thrice-scheduled bout again:

Check out what ‘El Cucuy‘ had to say:

#UFC223 #TonyFergusonMMA SnapJitsu™️ #SnapDownCity 🙏😎 🇺🇸🏆🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/Rf4PWg4QXT

— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) April 2, 2018

It’s an especially demolishing set of circumstances for Ferguson, who will, according to UFC president Dana White, automatically lose the interim title he won by defeating Kevin Lee at UFC 216 last October.

Now, Holloway vs. Nurmagomedov will be for the so-called “official” lightweight title (who really knows what that even means anymore), and “El Cucuy” will be left out in the cold regarding the title picture if White’s prediction that the winner at UFC 223 would face current ‘champion’ (or something) Conor McGregor sometime later this year.

The situation is a mess unlike any we’ve ever seen in the UFC, and it was an April Fool’s joke that ultimately turned out to be true.

The silver lining of it is that we get to see an exciting match-up we never saw coming, but for Ferguson, an otherwise surging force who still maintains one of the most impressive win streaks in the storied lightweight division’s history, Easter Sunday was an especially harsh one.