Tony Ferguson wants the Ultimate Fighting Championship to strip Khabib Nurmagomedov of his lightweight title, following his withdrawal from UFC 249 fight card.
The number one lightweight contender was set to challenge Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 249 on April 18 in a clash dubbed as the ‘most anticipated in UFC history.’
But the fight curse continues for the 155-pound rivals as Khabib recently confirmed he’s out of the title fight due to the travel restrictions in Russia.
“I understand everything and I’m definitely upset more than you to cancel the fight, probably like all others, I had many plans after the fight, but I can’t control it all,” the undefeated champ said.
“The greatest countries and the largest companies of our time are shocked by what is happening, every day the situation changes unpredictably. But Khabib still has to fight, is that what you saying?”
“Take care of yourself and put yourself in my shoes.”
Khabib says he’s out of UFC 249.
This is the fifth time a Khabib vs. Tony fight will be canceled. pic.twitter.com/kk08QfL3s8
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 1, 2020
Strip The Title
As expected, Ferguson wasn’t happy with Nurmagomedov’s decision, saying the defending champion does not want to fight him in the first place.
To this, ‘El Cucuy’ believes the UFC should strip Khabib’s lightweight title.
“I was very upset, I feel more for everybody else that was going through some hard times,” Ferguson said in an interview with Ariel Helwani.
“I’m, of course, a little bit pissed. He was in Abu Dhabi, he had the chance to come back here before the borders were closed in Russia. He decided to go back to Dagestan, didn’t finish his camp.”
“The guy does not want to fight. He’s scared. He’s running. He should be stripped of his title.”
“He did the exact same thing at UFC 209. He knew he wasn’t cutting weight very quick. He said already he was having a hard time cutting weight, doing everything else.”
“Khabib’s a bitch”: Tony Ferguson reacts to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC 249 withdrawal | https://t.co/hHnNiDoRVD pic.twitter.com/4eu4M8Gh8d
— TheMacLife (@Maclifeofficial) April 1, 2020
Not Gonna Happen
Ferguson insisted Khabib has the opportunities to finish his training camp in the US and save the pay-per-view event but the Russian chose to ‘run away’ instead.
With the match-up cancelled for the fifth time, the 36-year old American predicts Nurmagomedov will continue to duck the fight.
“To me right there he’s running away. He knew what he could do to help save this card. He didn’t wanna take any of those chances.”
“Everybody’s taking risks but he bailed out. It’s pretty hard to explain but he bailed out.”
“Bro, you have an obligation. You signed on the dotted line to represent your country, that’s what he said. He ran, he did everything he could to avoid that ass whooping.”
“Even this morning they said they were gonna allow flights out. As far as Khabib goes, he has the opportunities and he has the power to be able to take a private plane, come back and finish his training camp and be able to do UFC 249 for all the people out there.”
“He doesn’t want to fight, I guarantee this dude is gonna try to retire without fighting me.”
https://twitter.com/TonyFergusonXT/status/1245446553646448640
(Featured Image Source: YouTube/ ESPN MMA and Instagram/ Khabib Nurmagomedov)