The trash talking between No. 2 ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight Tony Ferguson and No. 1 ranked Khabib Nurmagomedov hasn’t ceased. The two finally agreed to a bout at UFC 209 in what should surely be a title eliminator. The winner is expected to meet Conor McGregor in a unification bout later this year.
Of course, “Notorious” has other plans at the moment.
“El Cucuy” was involved in a brief contract impasse with the UFC. Ferguson felt he had outperformed his contract. He recently appeared on MMAJunkie Radio and explained his decision to sign the bout agreement to fight “The Eagle:”
“They met my standards. Khabib’s offer, I threw right out the window immediately. That was some trashy kind of thing. But we’re good to go. We’re full swing ahead. … We worked out financial terms. I’ve earned my stripes in this division. I’ve put in my time. I’ve put in my work. I’ve put in my effort, especially when no fans were watching when I didn’t have cameras on me.”
Right now, the betting odds are favoring Nurmagomedov. Ferguson isn’t exactly heartbroken by this fact and said as long has he has confidence in his abilities, that’s all that matter.
“I don’t need anybody to believe in me besides myself, because every single day I go in there and I beat myself up that was so I can go out there and I can kick some ass. I know what I’m worth and I know my numbers, and that dude’s padded record is nowhere near my contention, my type of fights that I’ve had and presented to the world.”
The main event of UFC 209 will feature a welterweight title rematch between the champion Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson. The event takes place inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 4.
