On Nov. 12, Khabib Nurmagomedov (24-0) submitted Michael Johnson inside Madison Square Garden on UFC 205’s preliminary card. After the bout, he told the New York City crowd that “their guy” Conor McGregor “tapped like a chicken” earlier in the year and still got a lightweight title shot before he did. McGregor ended up starching Eddie Alvarez to win the championship that same night.
Since then, Nurmagomedov has turned his attention to Tony Ferguson. “El Cucuy” made a compelling argument for a shot at 155-pound gold when he bested former title holder Rafael dos Anjos in a “Fight of the Night” performance. The Russian grappler and Ferguson haven’t minced words when trading barbs.
With talks of McGregor taking time off, there have been ramblings of a potential interim title fight between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson. In a weird twist, featherweight champion Jose Aldo said he was offered an interim lightweight title bout. The 145-pound title holder also suggested that Nurmagomedov turned down the fight.
Nurmagomedov caught wind of Aldo’s comments and responded on his Instagram account:
Ferguson also chimed in on the situation, but he kept it brief. The No. 2 ranked lightweight also took to Instagram and reposted Nurmagomedov’s post. “El Cucuy” said, “Real Recognize Real #Respect.”
